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He had no time to consult Brother Chater before he determined on the journey, and wrote to me when at Rangoon, where he stayed only one night, and returned to Pegu the next morning. He says the Minister has now nearly the whole dominion over the Empire, and is going to war. He will accompany the army to Martaban, when he expects to stay with the Minister there.
The country through which the army was now passing was very beautiful. In the far distance on the left, the mountains of Aracan could be seen; while on the right the country was undulating, richly cultivated, and broken by clumps of timber, with a background of the range of hills running along near the Pegu river.
I thanked God from the bottom of my heart, and soon found myself in the presence of the blind magistrate. My bail consisted of Pegu, my tailor, and Maisonneuve, my wine merchant, who said they were happy to be able to render me this slight service. In another part of the court I noticed the infamous Charpillon, Rostaing, Goudar, and an attorney.
The armies of the rival kings met within two leagues of the city of Pegu; that of the Birmans amounting to 350,000 men, while Xemindoo had 600,000; yet Xemindoo was defeated with the loss of 300,000 men, while the Birmans lost 60,000. The victorious king of the Birmans immediately entered Pegu, where he slew a vast multitude of the inhabitants, and recovered his treasure.
In this year it was our evil fortune to be at sea in one of these terrible storms; and well it was for us that our ship was newly over-planked, and had no loading save victuals and ballast, with some gold and silver for Bengal, as no other merchandise is carried to Bengal from Pegu.
When I was in Calicut it was crowded with merchants from almost every part of the east, especially a prodigious number of Mahometans. There were many from Malacca and Bengal, from Tanaserim, Pegu, and Coromandel, from the islands of Ceylon and Sumatra, from all the cities and countries of Western India, and various Persians, Arabians, Syrians, Turks, and Ethiopians.
The elephants be not so great as those of Pegu, which be monstrous huge: but they say all other elephants do feare them, and none dare fight with them, though they be very small. Their women haue a cloth bound about them from their middle to their knee: and all the rest is bare. All of them be blacke and but little, both men and women.
From Malacca there go every year to Martaban, which is a port of Pegu, many ships, both large and small, with pepper, sandal-wood, porcelain of China, camphor, bruneo , and other commodities.
They cut off the tails of their cows, and sell them very dear, as they are in high request in those parts. The rump is only a span long, but the hair is a yard in length. These tails are used for show, to hang upon the heads of elephants, and are much sought after in Pegu and China.
These parts of his journal, and his excursions to the north of Pegu, certainly have a suspicious appearance.
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