my> people two bakers, and a person who understood making butter, we
were seldom without these.essentiaiarticles ©f*a tolerable quality. Whatever
we had occasion! to kill was slain in the night, to avoid offendiiig-thejprqu-
dieesfof the. people, who,'so far from sfeekmgicause o f offence, were inclined
toimake every liberal allowance for the'usage of-foreigners. The Maywoort
politely erdereda pair -of horses of.the Pegue breed, smail^huLhandsome and
spirited, tdbeiselected, and sent to us, fromhis own stud, accompanied.by
two .glooms, onfc. to attend oil each horse; a temporary, stable ■ was erected
for them within the paling of our court, where they continued whilst.
we remained a t Pegue, and afforded us the means of exercise and pleasing
recreation. Being now commodfously settled, I invited Captain Thomas-
from Rangoon, to spend a few days with u s ; he accepted my,rjmwtation£
and came up in a boat provided by the intendant of the port,, having
previously arranged the concerns o f his ship, and the mode o f supplying
the crew during his absence. ;.
The solar year of the Birmans was now drawing to a close, and the
three last days are usually spent by them in merriment and feasting;‘we
were invited by the Maywoon to be present on the evening '6i the 10th
of April, at the exhibition of a dramatic representation.
At a little before eight o’elock, the houfrwhen the play viras tb^om*.
mence, we proceeded to the house of the Maywoon, accompanied by Baba-
Sheen, who, on aH occasions, acted as master o f the ceremonies. The
theatre was the open court, splendidly illuminated by-laraps and torches
the Maywoon and his lady s at in a projecting balcony of his house ; we
occupied seats below him, raised about two feet from the ground and
covered with carpets; a crowd of spectators were seated in a circle round
-the stage. The 'performance began immediately on our arrival, and far
e^e%dHan-y-f|n^àn,lîdiîam^ I had The«^,aJggue was spirited*,
Without andjftjhe<• ^-tip.ntapijn^t.ed,. vyithopj,, ibpjpgj içxtRava gant : .the.
dïhSftes of. the principal ip^foçm^§jVf§^ s h p ^ w a s , t o l d 1
thabkhe hestf naYi^jg^of >- Si , a .nation, which^'hq^ghjrmablet
§"‘8S^9l14>j’h'hh; the J^ma^Sÿ^^^P)g^e^3^^rÿ^^veiYbljà%a,ted with.
mo&> fiuqcc.ss thc,Kkind wu\ ol .ar^pMftdefofoweuie
theii®tSjjia^te®nishvbuffoonr^ ^ r^m ed ‘r thg^au|^me.l,w;it,h -a récital qf
dMfegmt} passages, and by grimacq^(®d^jfroquentf igns^p^l^hè .and
i^unt^nanpe, ,extortedf loy.d«pçal^o^ Latnis. J'iu|J
BipOap§,os.een>.tto} in^rgjxnigfo^ï|-aînri.i>'arc^y^ej-ry expert- ;dn the-prac-t
tiu.,‘>]U)sscssing,’ diJc()niinon \usatiliH f^ijouptci^jnu l( 4 n oirma_fit pi ic*-*
t^pep,©f^his^^^piûs§|^B^ith.art^e^nïep>|ijftbisJf skill.-.»it pwr own
hquse, ja-pcjj <iOr%3itîn9! smaM pgtqqi^^eijt^bxhiihil^d, a masterly^dispfe of-
thoipttssioyj), inupantoniiniic lqqks cUid^gtsliiu ik , uamimmspHe unafo.
from, -pain .IpjÎpleasijEe;, fy°îQ from .rage, Jij-'iinMricss;horn
lipiglucj; tp teais; his. pxjU-csyipn pi. terror,, -ud^ jbpgc^jJI ,lm> look ,ol
idiotism, were -.performances ? tf^te ,merit in > their line-,, %nd, '!we
agreed in opinion, that had his .fatçs, decreed»Mnj. to. haye been a. native oh
Çfeat 'Britain,, lus gonius would have 11\ ailed thut.pi uiivioodurnteonitsa
dian of'the English stage. ■'
*yé3Rhe> plot' of the .drama performed this eveningftfoifodére|ç^ii^'jvasita^:en.
fopmsthi'^aieted text of .the Ramayan of BaJmipi«. a woik ol hjUij,auth()rity
amongst UiciJHindofis. Il ^represented, the haÇJfgs.ol the hoh Ilaui,and the
impious Rahwaan, chief of the Rakuss, or.dtmdr-isfïto revenge the lup'i-tftlî
Seeta, the wife of Ram, who was forcibly c a met f V?w a\^ bV 1 i a h w aitnï 'and1
bound under the spells of çnchantment, \ uis€n udes ol foi‘tuiic'took'placc
* G&lled by Sfr William Jonesÿ ,Valmi(?G\v,
Aa>