fled on the first assault, and after pillaging the place the Burmese troops retired immediately to their position at Azimee. Menghee Oozina was at this time about 65 years of age, a tall thin man, about 6 feet high, fair complexioned for a Burman-Greyhaired and nearly bald, and his countenance flushed by the excessive use of spirituous liquors. He was a great consumer of beetle-leaf and nut, and from the great use of these stimulants the sensitiveness of his palate had become so much injured that he was obliged to use the most stimulating food procurable. His cooks could not suit his taste sufficiently in the dishes which they prepared for him, and he took into his head the whim of endeavouring to remedy the defect by dressing his own victuals.

He used to put a most extraordinary quantity of chillies, Gnapee, and salt into his food, so as to render it quite intolerable to the tastes of others. He was a man of exceedingly cruel disposition. I once saw an instance of it. He had ordered his cook to be flogged with a rattan till he nearly died, because he had lost three Marantheest entrusted to his charge, fruit of no value at the time. I had in my possession some very fine fruit of the same description, and whilst the cook was undergoing this cruel flagellation, I presented my fruit to Menghee Oozina, and with great difficulty begged the cook off.

The advance under Oozina returned to Martaban in the month of Thudeengyat, and the Sekkiawoon after esta, blishing Oozina as Myowon of that place took his departure. for the capital.

On the breaking up of the army, I conveyed some of Yéwon Mounkoing's soldiers in my boat to Rangoon, and continued my mercantile pursuits there, trading up the river Irrawaddy as far as Prome, Myaide, and the neighbourhood.

In the year 1184 an army under command of Tsarawonghee Moungnai, with Bundoola as Lieutenant General marched against Cussay to quell an insurrection there, which object being effected, the army was directed against Assam in 1185 to quell a rebellion in that country..

* A preparation of fish, sometimes extremely offensive to the smell. A fruit of the mangoe species.

Tsara-wonghee Moungnai is said to have died on his return towards Ava from the latter expedition. No levies were drawn from the country below Prome for this army. This same year Bundoola offering his services to the King to conquer Chittagong was despatched with an army for that purpose. In the month of Taboung orders came from Ava to prepare for an attack by the English. Bundoola, when the quarrel took place with the English on the Chittagong frontier wrote to say that he had information. of an armament consisting of 47 sail of vessels having been fitted out with the intention of making a descent on Rangoon. Great activity prevailed in fitting Rangoon for the attack. Defences were thrown up along the river side. News had reached Rangoon of the success of Bundoola on the Chittagong frontier, and as it was greatly exaggerated, the Burmese did not expect before this, that the English would come to Rangoon. The town however was surprized on the 14th day of the waxing of the moon in the month Kutzon, by the appearance of a large fleet sailing up the river. I had been ordered to superintend about 160 men in throwing up a parapet of earth on the eastern side of the town near a creek close to which was a white washed wooden house built for Ambassadors, and which has since been burnt.

The Gai-Tsikkai was the first who arrived with news that a vast number of vessels were at the mouth of the river supposed to be English, and duly reported the circumstance to the Gai-wons* at Rangoon, they said to him "Why are you come to alarm the people of Rangoon to no purpose, and without cause?" and put him immediately in confinement. Tsikkait Mounglat was despatched by them on the instant to ascertain if the Gai-Tsikkai's story was true. Having proceeded down the river the Tsikkai Mounglat slept at the chokey during the night, and the next morning went in one of his boats to the first vessel. He was received on board kindly and fed, and on his departure was commissioned to deliver a packet to the authorities at Rangoon. Tsikkai Mounglat arrived at Ran

*O.ficers of the marine department.

Tsinkai, deputy or lieutenant.

goon about sunset and delivered his packet to the Gaiwons excusing himself from attending, on account of not having had his dinner. The packet was broken open and by the light of a solitary wax candle the four Gai-wons each chose one of the eight papers which the packet contained -Tsikkai Moungno took one, Gnakan Moungbai took another. Tsaraighee Moungshoe took a third. I was all this time close to the upper stage of the Goum where the officers of government were collected. They commenced reading to themselves the contents of the papers by this solitary light, and every now and then I could observe they shook their heads. At last Gai-won Moung Bo said "it is not a subject to be kept secret, every body should know it." The Gountsarai was called and the document read aloud. It turned out to be a proclamation from Major Canning. Messrs. Turner, Wade, Sarkis and Aratoon, besides many other merchants were sent for, and asked their opinion as to the expected result of the proclamation. They, most of them said that the vessels were not come with any hostile purpose but merely to negotiate on the subject of Bundoola having committed aggressions on the Chittagong frontier.

The Gai-wons would not believe this and had all the kulas imprisoned in the Goum.

There was an immense crowd round the Goum. None of the people would believe that 40 or 50 vessels had arrived for the purpose of negotiation, and expressed their opinion to that effect loudly. The Gai-wons immediately set about to call on the different Thooghees and Gaons of districts to furnish their quota of men; tied many of them up, and used threats. I was employed the whole night with the men under me throwing up a parapet; the next day about one o'clock the ships came up the river, and then commenced the cannonade on the town, at which all the chiefs and their people fled from the place. I also went off to Pusandown where my house was. There I advised my friends to betake themselves to their boats, and fly up the river which they did. I remained in my house to look after my property. I had a quantity of beetle, nut, oil, to* Foreigners.

bacco, gnapee and fish, neepa leaves, rattan, &c. in value about 2,500 tickals, which I could not convey away. I slept that night in the village; the next morning an English officer with some seapoys came to the village, they were acompanied by a Burman mussulman as interpreter. They asked me who I was and telling them I was a merchant and showing my property, they asked for the women, I said they had fled. The officer told me to go and call them, that they had no reason to be afraid, no harm would be done to them. When the officer went away, I got into a small canoe with my attendants, and started up the river. The alarm was so great amongst the people, there was no possibility of persuading any of them to return, nor did I return myself but left my property to the mercy of the invaders. About 300 boats full of the poorer families, had assembled at Kureenzoik about half a tides journey up the Moyoit branch of the river. Decoits were in great number, but by dint of watching we managed to keep our party pretty clear of them; we staid at this place about 15 days. Near it was established the stockade of Yaigoo or Gnoungwoin, and for the building of which our party had to furnish the materials; the stockade was attacked by the English and taken, I went to see it after the troops had returned to Rangoon, and found about 300 bodies, principally those of Setoung people in it. The English force passed close to our position, but of course they knew not that we were there, or they would have endeavoured to secure our numerous families. We were called on again to rebuild the stockade, but whilst engaged in it, many of the families who were with me fled in their boats daily, and seeing this I thought it prudent to decamp myself to the village of Kobiat three doings to the east of Pegue. I had not been there above ten days when the Oukmawon or officer of Decoy elephants came with an army of 3,000 men from Tounjoo, on his march to Rangoon. He commenced seizing all the boats he could lay hands on, and I therefore concealed myself with my boats, in the neighbouring jungles or long grass which was flooded sufficiently to allow our boats about 20, or 30 in number to traverse it, and afforded excellent means of concealment. After being cer

tain that the Oukmawon had passed with his army, we again returned to the village of Kobiat. We found the place however too much in the line of march for the different bodies of troops passing to and fro, and therefore moved off to the village of Kaloin about one doing to the east of Kobiat, and remained there during the rest of the rainy

season.

Here our autobiographer does well to keep silence. When the Burmese population had recovered its panic, he was one of the first to enlist on the strongest side, and took office under the British authorities at Rangoon, but the deep rooted habits of the Burman came so frequently in collision with the British exercise of justice, that he was sometimes very unpleasantly situated. He has for the last eight years been resident at Moulmein during which period he once visited Madras, he is considered one of the most erudite of his class, but retains too much of his Burmese character to hope for any employment except in the department of literature.

IV. Observations on the return of Halley's Comet.-By T. G. TAYLOR, Esq. Honorable Company's Astronomer.

To the Editor of the Madras Journal of Lit. and Science. DEAR SIR,

The return of Halley's comet which may be expected towards the latter end of August next, is an event to which I apprehend every class of observers looks forward with interest, under this impression I have thought that the accompanying sketch of the heavens for the latitude of Madras, on the 1st September, at 4 o'clock in the morning (the time at which it will be proper to look for the comet) will prove acceptable; the sketch exhibits the apparent path of the comet from the 7th August to the 2d October after which time it will probably not be seen again till the 12th or 13th, it having in the interim (on or about the 7th) arrived at the nearest approach to the earth; (21 millions of miles) with regard to the probable accuracy of these predictions it is but fair to state, that the place of the comet may possibly differ two or three degrees from the computa