MANDALAY (ante), situated on a bend of the Irrawaddy river, about 17 m. above the ancient capital of Amarapoora, became the capital of Burmah by command of the king in 1833. It is 400 m. n. of Rangoon, the great sea-port of all Burmah, and is reached by way of the river on steamboats. The climate is pestilential, and but for the swine, which act as scavengers, the filth to be found in all directions would render the city uuinhabitable. Pig,s crowd the highways, feeding from the refuse that is scattered everywhere, and these animals are under protection, and have even been the subject of provision on the part of benevoleut individuals, who remembered them in their wills for the good of the city. The place is further infested with pariah dogs, vicious and noisy. The dwellings in Mandalay are constructed of bamboo, and of a dark red wood fouad throughout Burmah, the latter being usually ornamented with beautiful carvings. Such houses have three or four roofs, which give them an extremely picturesque appear ance. A monastery near the city contains in its court-yard a number of statues repre senting the Buddhist Gautama, the founder of that religion, in various attitudes. A, sluggish stream, the Schway-ta-Choung, with several carved wooden bridges, is near by, on the left bank of which stands the building of the former British residency, now aban doned. The citadel is built in a perfect square, of which each front is a mile in length. It is protected by a high crenelated wall, adorned at intervals by pretty seven-roofed kiosks; and by a broad moat filled with clear water, on whose surface float masses of blooming lotus-flowers, with here and there a carved war-boat, whose prow presents the figure of a dragon. A heavy gate and drawbridge at each side of the wall give access
to the citadel, and are guarded by Burmese soldiers. Within are the hall of justice, the royal palace, and the abode of the sacred white elephant. The present king of Burmah, Theebaw, resides in the palace. Re is the son of the late king Mindoon Men, and the youngest of three brothers. Great efforts were made towards the education of this prince, and he was trained in a Burmese convent. But on the death of his father, he seized the government, causing all the friends and near relatives of the other princes to be murdered, while they only escaped by soeking the protection of the British residency in disguise. They were afterwards smuggled to the British frontie-. and were shipped to Calcutta, whence they have twice returned to Burmah, and raised rebellions, which, however, proved ineffectual. Since his accession to the throne, king Theebaw lias become notorious for his bloodthirsty cruelties, until it has become a common incident to see Burmese publicly crucified in the streets of Mandalay under his orders. His reign has been one of the most vicious and despicable known to recent oriental history.