The wet season approaching, it was judged impolitic then to advance the army farther into the enemy's country; but it was determined, in the meantime, to dispatch a small expedition for the purpose of clearing the surrounding country of the military bands which were ravaging it, and to penetrate eastward as far as Tonghoo, a walled city of great consequence, situate 100 miles distant from Prome. The first two days' march of the expedition was over a fertile champagne country, which was succeeded by a luxuriant wilderness, in which were nestled a few solitary cottages. Occasionally it came upon villages; and as care had been taken to apprize the inhabitants of the approach and friendly designs of the troops, they were found at the doors of their houses, staring with wonder upon their new visitors. The confidence of these people was easily acquired; and whenever the tents of our soldiers were pitched, the natives appeared, to offer them fowls and other commodities for sale or barter. The appearance of the huts was very far remote from that of comfort, according to what would be an English peasant's idea; but still the people appeared contented and cheerful. Weaving looms, which may be considered a mark of at least incipient civilization, were common among them. Where the - Burmese troops had been, there was desolation-houses tenantless and plundered; and at intervals was seen some solitary sentinel, at the skirts of the forest, into which the natives had fled, watching the progress of the party.

The expedition at length reached Tagoondine, forty miles distant from Prome, and at the bottom of the Galadzet Mountains, which separate the province of Prome from that of Tonghoo. These mountains are inhabited by Krayns, a harmless but uncouth race, among whom the practice of tattooing the face prevails. To advance beyond the point the expedition had reached, was impossible, on account of

the setting in of the rains; but a small division was ordered to ascend the pass over the mountains, which, however, it was found impossible to effect.

The expedition retired from Tagoondine towards Meaday, a deserted town, with an old brick wall, which appeared to have been recently stockaded. At every village on their homeward route our troops were shocked by the marks of the atrocious excesses committed by the Burman soldiers, acting, doubtless, by the commands of their chiefs, whose policy it was to reduce the British to the strait of famine. In most of the villages, dogs, howling for want, were the only living beings to be seen. Sometimes, a few of the inhabitants were discovered, with their cattle and other property, lying concealed within the jungle, and assurances of protection were given to them, if they would return to their homes; but the far greater proportion had been driven to a distance by the armed police. At length the party reached Prome in safety.

While the excursion we have de scribed was being accomplished, the commander-in-chief was not inactive at head-quarters. On the approach of the rainy season, early in June, cantonments for the troops were prepared in the neighbourhood of Prome; and proclamations were issued, inviting the inhabitants to return, and promising them protection and liberal payment for the commodities they had to dispose of. The effect of these proclamations was almost magical. The people instantly returned in shoals, bringing along with them such of their property as had escaped military rapine, and reinstated themselves in their former habitations; and, in a few days, such is the active, cheerful disposition of the Peguins, Prome, with the accession of strangers, who came to settle there, relying upon British protection, rose to more than its former magnitude. Innumerable flocks were seen to issue from the forest recesses, and cover the

surrounding plains, where they were suffered to browse in safety. Bazaars were opened at every station, and plentifully supplied. All traces of past af fiction disappeared; and the only source of solicitude on the part of the inhabitants, was the knowledge that sooner or later they would be abandoned by their generous protectors.

As the great want experienced by the army was of the adequate means of conveying its stores, a depôt was established; and by the offer of liberal payment, the natives were readily induced to furnish large fleets of canoes, fit for the navigation of the Irrawaddy, and carts and cattle for the commissariat, and the equipment of the foot artillery. Beef also was abundantly supplied for the soldiers' rations.

A municipal government was also formed, to enforce the observance of good order and the rules of justice. In every district of the Burman empire, there is, besides a Maywoon, or military chief, a Meuthogee, or civil chief, whose duty it is to promulgate and carry into effect the orders of the Maywoon, to collect taxes, and to hold courts for the decision of petty causes; the fees payable in such causes constituting their chief emoluments. Most of the Meuthogees of the Prome province having returned from the woods, with the rest of the people, the commander-in-chief wisely offered to reinstate them in their office, under this limitation, that they were not to punish beyond a certain term of imprisonment, without the sanction of the British authorities; and, fortunately, though strange to say, those men ventured to brave the indignation of their own government, by accepting the proposal made to them. Owing partly to the discreet exercise by the Meuthogees of the power restored to them, and partly to the excellent discipline observed by our army, it is a notable circumstance, considering the distracted state of the surround

ing country, that only one execution took place at Prome while the army remained there, and the sufferer was a native, convicted of robbery and murder. One great relief afforded to the inhabitants by the presence of the British was their exemption for the time being from all taxes.

At Prome the inquisitive of the British had leisure to examine closely, and judge with tolerable accuracy of the genius, dispositions, and habits of the people. It struck most with surprise, that the Peguins, once a proud and independent nation, showed no symptoms of an inclination to shake off the Burman yoke; but, on the contrary, in Lower Pegu, evinced a remarkable fidelity to their tyrants-fighting zealously in their ranks, and strictly concealing their movements from the invaders. The only explanation that can be given of this singular attachment of the Peguins to a power that degrades and oppresses them is, that they are trained up in a slavish veneration of their chiefs, and impressed from infancy, as even the surrounding nations are, with a profound sense of the abilities of the Burmans for war and government; and that habit has so inured them to their condition, as to have obliterated all recollections of their former independence.

Some points of character the Burmans and their vassals, the Peguins, seem to have in common. What their religion is does not distinctly appear; but, to be Orientalists, they are remarkably exempt from such strong prejudices, either religious or national, as dispose those entertaining them, to undervalue and despise others, who, in matters of opinion, happen to differ from them; owing to which happy exemption they were soon prepared to recognise the superiority of the British, in respect of courage, and the qualities which are chiefly estimable in civilized man. A curious example of the looseness of

their prejudices occurred at Prome. Their religion forbids them to kill any domestic animal; but they had no repugnance to sell to the British, cattle which were meant to be killed, and even ate of their flesh,-nay, of the very of fals which our soldiers rejected, with extreme eagerness. So slightly, indeed, do they regard their religion, that it has been remarked that the king, by a word of his mouth, might annihilate it, without exciting a single murmur among his subjects.

The Burmans are soldiers from their birth. Their courage, activity, and capability of enduring fatigue, admirably qualify them for a military life; their modes of defence display extraordinary skill; and their tactics, in offensive operations, far surpass those of other Eastern nations. Their government is essentially military; and so organized that the whole resources of the empire can, with wonderful celerity, be put in motion. All other interests of the state are subordinated to its military power and glory. In war, the Burmese are unhesitating and remorseless; to spare a people whom they have subdued from utter extermination, is an act of most unwonted benignity; though millions should perish, their conquests must be secured.

Yet, ruthless as are the Burmans in war, in domestic life they are amiable -most affectionate to those dependent upon them. The poor are frank and hospitable-acute and intelligent; and let most civilized governments blush when they learn the fact, that most of them can read and write. The public functionaries, as must always be the case under a despotic government, are a venal and faithless crew; but the bulk of the nation possess many meritorious qualities. Their greatest fault, (and a most flagrant one it is) seems to be their disesteem of chastity. It is common with them to hire their daughters to strangers.

While the British army was enjoying involuntary rest at Prome, meditating, when the season permitted, an advance upon Amarapora, the capital of Ava, and the seat of government, the Burmans were making extraordinary preparations for the renewal of the contest. The arsenals were busied in manufacturing the munitions of war; and a contingent of 15,000 men from the far distant country of the Shan tribes, bordering upon China, was marching towards the capital. So eagerly did the Shans obey the imperial mandate, that the force they sent into the field, was to be augmented to 70,000 before the end of September. So mighty were the preparations made, that the Burman monarch, elated by them, as well as deluded by bis flatterers, instructed his generals, in a fit of gracious condescension, that they might listen to any pacific communications to be made by the British, as if the British had been anxious to get out of the country on any conditions.

In the beginning of October, the Burman forces were rapidly concentra ting at Meaday. A letter had been sent from the British head-quarters to the Burman chiefs, exposing the consequences to the Burman empire of a continuance of the war, and urging them to consult the interests of their sovereign, by listening to terms of peace. A mission to Prome replied to this letter, that it was the desire of the King and his Ministers to have a lasting peace established between the two nations.

In consequence of this mission, two British officers were dispatched to Meaday, where they offered to the Kee Wongee, or Prime Minister, an armistice; and proposed a meeting between commissioners from the two armies. The armistice was accepted of; and it was agreed that the Kee Wongee, and another chief, Lamain Woon, should meet the British generals half-way, at

Neounbenzeik, each to be escorted by 600 men.

On the day appointed, the commissioners, with their guards, encamped upon the plain of Neounbenzeik, at the distance of a mile asunder. Equidistant from the two camps, a house had been erected as a place of conference. After an adjustment of formalities, both parties left camp at the same instant; and, meeting in front of the conference house, shook hands, then entered the house, and sat down on double rows of chairs, the one party fronting the other. The Burman commissioners, including the Kee Wongee, were all splendidly dressed; and, in sitting, conformed themselves strictly to the European mode, with a view to maintain perfect equality. Indeed, throughout the whole of the conferences, they seemed to have a thorough acquaintance with European customs; while, which was more creditable to their intelligence, they proved themselves to be far from ignorant of what were the true interests of the British empire. Their politesse was carried, perhaps, the length of insincerity; but that is no reproach to them, if we consider how much conventional insincerity there is in the etiquette of even European diplomacy. It is probable, that they would have incurred the imputation of being perfectly barbarous, had they spoke exactly as they thought and felt. Oriental nations are addicted to paying high-flown compliments, which are understood by both parties to amount in meaning only to this, that the person paying them has no deadly animosity towards him to whom they are addressed; and when we consider this addiction, we are disposed to think that the Burman commissioners display ed a candour, upon the whole, which entitles their nation to be regarded as a peculiar people among those of the East.

Many affectionate inquiries as to our

King and Royal Family were made by the Burman commissioners; after which it was proposed and agreed to, that the business of the meeting should be deferred till next day. The meeting then broke up, after the Burman commissioners had expressed their regret that two such enlightened nations as Britain and Ava should unfortunately have been engaged in war through misunderstanding.

Next day the respective commissioners again met at the conferencehouse, when Sir Archibald Campbell recapitulated the aggressions committed by the Burmans, commented on the success which had crowned the British army, and the dangers which threatened the Burman empire, and stated the terms upon which he was authorized to conclude a peace. The Burman commissioners replied, inter alia, that the aggressions complained of were unauthorized by their government, and were solely attributable to the unwarranted conduct of three bad men employed in Arracan, who had kept back the letters addressed by the Anglo-Indian government to their King. They then, to induce Sir Archibald Campbell to modify his demands, urged the advantages which the British, as a commercial nation, would derive from an accommodation with them; and that, were they to submit to their King the terms which were offered, it might cost them their heads. At length, they requested a prolongation of the armistice for twenty days, which Sir Archibald consented to. Before parting, the Burman commissioners dined with our general; and displayed a still farther knowledge of English customs. They took occasion particularly to reprobate the practice of putting prisoners of war to death, and other practices which their nation almost uniformly indulges in. They departed, expressing their hope, that peace would

speedily be concluded between the two countries.

In the course of a few days it became evident, that the Burmans were little disposed to make the concessions which were demanded of them. Numerous predatory bands scoured the country under the immediate protection of the British, and extended their ravages even to the gates of Prome, in open violation of the armistice which had been concluded. All the remonstrances which were made on the subject, had no effect on the Burman leaders, who, in face of the clearest evidence, disclaimed any connexion with the marauders. At length, when the armistice was about to close, they fairly threw aside the mask, by sending the following epistle to the British camp :-" If you wish for peace, you may go away; but if you ask either money or territory, no friendship can exist between us. This is Burman custom."

This menacing manifesto was instantly followed up by offensive movements on the part of the Burmans, who, calculating upon their renovated strength, seem to have thought that they might easily overpower the British. They advanced upon Prome in three divisions: the right, commanded by Sudda Woon, amounting to 15,000 men, having crossed the Irrawaddy, moved forward upon its west bank, after detaching a corps to its front, for the purpose of interrupting the British communication with the rear; the centre, composed of from 25,000 to 30,000, under the command of the Kee Wongee himself, proceeded along the left bank of the river, accompanied by a flotilla of war-boats; the left division, about 15,000 strong, commanded by Maha Nemiaw, an old and experienced officer, who was intrusted with the direction of the general operations, moved in a line about ten miles distant from the river, from which it was se

parated by a deep river. Besides these formidable bodies, in the vicinity of the scene of action was a reserve of 10,000, commanded by the king's halfbrother, Prince Memiaboo, which was strongly fortified at Melloone. Opposed to this enormous aggregate of forces, there was only a field force of 5000 British, deducting the garrison of Prome.

About the 10th of November, the advance of Maha Nemiaw's corps took post at Wattygoon, about sixteen miles distant from Prome, in a north-east direction. As he thus took post in the British rear, and was in a situation to throw reinforcements into Lower Pegu, it was determined to dislodge him. With that view, two brigades of Native Infantry, commanded by Colonel MacDowall, advanced separately to Wattygoon by different roads, intending to attack Nemiaw's force in flank, front, and rear, at the same time. But the enemy being apprised of the attack, met the advancing columns half-way; and succeeded in repulsing all the corps but the centre one, which broke through the enemy's line, and forced its way to Wattygoon, where Colonel M'Dowall, in the act of reconnoitring, was unfortunately killed. The corps finding itself unsupported, and unequal to the assault, commenced a retreat, which it effected with considerable loss.

The successful Maha Nemiaw now changed his position, and advanced gradually upon Prome, stockading himself at every mile. The other divisions of the Burman army were simultaneously in motion. The centre one was distinctly observed erecting a stockade on the heights of Napadee, above the river, distant five miles from the city; and that commanded by Sudda Woon was seen similarly employed on the opposite bank. At the same time, an enemy's detachment was pushed forward to occupy Padoungmew, a town