The houses are made of timbers, or bamboos, set in the earth, with lighter pieces fastened transversely.  The sides are covered, some with mats, more or less substantial and costly, others with thatch, fastened with split ratans.  The roof is very ingeniously made and fastened on, and is a perfect security against wind and rain.  The floor is of split cane, elevated a few feet from the earth, which secures ventilation and cleanliness.  The windows and doors are of mat, strengthened with a frame of bamboo, and strongly fastened at the top.  When open they are propped up with a bamboo, and form a shade.  Of course, there are no chimneys.  Cooking is done on a shallow box a yard square, filled with earth.

We must not judge of the architectural skill of the people by their private houses.  A Burman conceals his wealth with as much care as we exhibit ours, for a display of it only subjects him to extortion from the officers of government.  Malcom describes some of their zayats, pagodas and bridges, especially in and near Ava, as truly noble.

Rice may be said to be the universal food.  It is generally eaten with a nice curry, and sauces of various vegetables are added.  Wheat is not made into bread by the natives, but boiled like rice.  Its name in Burmah is “foreigner’s rice,” which shows it is not native to the country.

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The natural good traits of the Burman character are almost rendered nugatory by their religion, and the oppressive nature of their government.  The latter is an absolute despotism.  The king has a nominal council with whom he may advise, but whose advice he may, if he chooses, treat with utter contempt.  It is not, however, the direct oppression of the monarch that causes most suffering among his subjects.  It is rather that of the inferior officers of government whose rapacity and extortion renders property, liberty, and life itself insecure.  Deceit, fraud and lying are the natural, if not necessary consequences of a system which leaves the people entirely at the mercy of those who bear rule over them.

The religion is Buddhism, one of the most ancient and wide-spread superstitions existing on the face of the earth.  Its sacred Divinity, or Buddh, is Gaudama, who has passed into a state of eternal and unconscious repose, which they consider the summit of felicity; but which seems to us to differ little from annihilation.  Images of this god are the chief objects of worship.  These are found in every house, and are enshrined in pagodas and temples, and in sacred caves which appear to have been used from time immemorial for religious purposes.  The wealth and labor bestowed on the latter show how great the population must have been in former ages.  Dr. Malcom describes one cave on the Salwen, which is wholly filled with images of every size, while the whole face of the mountain for ninety feet above the cave is incrusted with them.  “On every