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PEGU PEREYRA AND THE PEGUAN BRIDE.

but in the sun a light palm-leaf hat is set upon the head by an elastic bamboo frame, which holds it up several inches, and permits the air to pass between. Play-acting, cock-fighting, and kite-flying are the prominent amusements. In the two latter, princes and priests, both old and young, engage with delight. They have also a small pugnacious species of fish, the fighting of which is a very admired pastime.

In their general character, the Siamese are said to be crafty, mean, ignorant, conceited, slothful, servile, rapacious, and cruel. No one blushes at being detected in a fraud or a falsehood, and few seem superior to a bribe. They are cowardly, and shrink from an air of resolution in a foreigner. But they have also some good qualities. They are exceedingly fond of their offspring, and cherish reverence to parents almost equal to that of the Chinese. They are temperate and gentle. Women are not reduced below their proper level; for though custom forbids them to rank above men in some things, yet in others they are allowed an influence greater than they possess with us. They are always their husbands' cash-keepers; they do most of the buying and selling, and are not compelled to perform so much laborious drudgery as in most countries of Europe.

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THE ancient kingdom of Pegu comprised the territory at the mouth of the Irawaddy, and between that river and the Salwen. It was bounded north by Arracan and Burmah, east by Siam, south by the sea, and west by Arracan. All this country is level and fertile, abounding with elephants, buffaloes, and other wild animals. It has also immense forests of teak, which furnish very valuable supplies of timber for ship-building.

Pegu seems to have been governed by its own kings from the earliest period to which its historical records extend; and at one time its inhabitants were considerably advanced beyond their neighbors in the arts of civilization; but of the early history of this country we have very few particulars. A close friendship appears to have existed for a long time between Pegu and Siam, the inhabitants of which carried on a brisk trade with each other till the sixteenth century, when this amity was interrupted by a very trifling incident. A Peguan trading vessel, bound homeward from the city of Siam, anchored one evening in the river near a small temple, and the crew, going on shore, saw a handsomely carved idol, which so pleased their fancy, that, finding the priests of the temple negligent, they stole it, and carried it to Pegu. This act caused a great excitement and irritation among the people in the neighborhood of the temple, who petitioned the king of Siam for redress. There happened a dearth of provisions that year, and this was imputed to the impiety of the Peguans. Under the influence of this superstitious feeling, the king of Siam sent an embassy to Pegu, requesting the restitution of the idol, whose absence had caused such a calamity to his kingdom.

| This being refused, a war immediately broke out between the two nations. Pegu was almost completely overrun by the Siamese armies; and the king, in his distress, resolved to call to his assistance the Portuguese, who had recently found their way into that part of India, and whose name began to be formidable in all the maritime countries in that quarter. Encouraged by the offers held out to them, about a thousand Portuguese entered into the service of Pegu, and by the terror of their firearms and their superior courage and discipline, easily expelled the Siamese from the country they had invaded. The king of Pegu rewarded the Portuguese for their services, and made their commander, Pereyra, general-in-chief of his forces.

The Portuguese in this manner obtained great influence in Pegu, and soon began to display such haughty insolence of demeanor as to excite the hatred of the people. Pereyra, however, continued in favor at court, and had his elephants of state, with a guard of his own countrymen to attend him. There was a rich Peguan, named Mangabosa, whose daughter was about to be married to a nobleman, by whom she was ardently beloved. On the wedding day, Pereyra happened to be passing on his elephant of state from the royal palace, near the house of Mangabosa, and hearing the sound of music, inquired the cause. Learning that a marriage was about to take place, he entered the house, and desired to see the bride. The father, considering himself honored by such a notice, sent for his daughter and her bridemaids, and when she made her appearance at the door, he ordered her to draw from her finger a valuable ring and present it to the general. hand, and dragging her forcibly toward him, exclaimed, Struck by her beauty, that officer seized her by the "God forbid that so fair a maid should fall into any hands but mine!" The old man, overcome with terror, fell on his knees, and besought the ravisher's mercy, but was answered only by a threat that he should be put to death. The bridegroom and his relations arriving opportunely at this moment, the old man was rescued, and a bloody contest took place between them and the attendants of the Portuguese. The lover, his father, and seven of his kinsmen, were killed, and the distracted bride was carried off by her ravisher to his palace, where she abandoned herself to despair, and finally committed suicide by hanging herself with her girdle.

The grief of her aged father knew no bounds nor abatement. For the space of four years, he never crossed his threshold without being clothed in a tattered garment of matting, and begging alms of his own slaves-an Eastern method of displaying the intensity of sorrow. The king, however, was not moved by these pathetic appeals to his sense of justice, but continued to protect and favor the ravisher. At length this monarch died, and as soon as his successor had taken possession of the throne, Mangabosa rushed out of his house, and seizing in his arms an idol sacred to the afflicted, took his stand on the threshold of the great temple, and harangued the people on his wrongs and sufferings. The multitude, inspired by pity and generous indignation, rushed to the royal palace, and demanded justice. The king, wishing to conciliate the people at the commencement of his reign, ordered his guard to seize the guilty officer, and deliver him into the hands of the multitude. He was accordingly arrested in the street, and dragged to the stairs of the market place, where he prayed fervently, as a Christian,¡

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to Heaven; but the injured father, still holding his idol, | pots, the kings of Cochin China gave themselves up to called out for vengeance. Pereyra was thrown down indolence and luxury, and allowed their favorites to the stairs, and fell into the hands of the infuriated mob, oppress the people. This produced rebellion, which who, after heaping him with insults, fastened him to threw every thing into confusion. Three brothers, the foot of an elephant, and caused him to be dragged named Tay-son, distinguished themselves amid these by the animal through the streets till he expired. scenes of turbulence, and at length seized the gov Their rage was next vented on the remaining Portu-ernment. One of them conquered Tonquin, and held guese in the city, all of whom were massacred, except it till his death, in 1792, when it was divided among three, who, being accidentally in the suburbs, were his sons. The dethroned king of Tonquin took refuge enabled to make their escape in a small boat to Ma- in Siam, and endeavored to raise a party in his suplacca. port in the southern portion of the kingdom. In the course of these revolutions, Cochin China became reunited to Tonquin, and remains so at the present day. The first six kings of Cochin China were greatly beloved by the people, whom they governed in a mild and patriarchal style, looking upon them as their children, and by their own example, prompting them to habits of simplicity, industry, and frugality. But the subsequent discovery of gold and silver mines, and the easy and frequent communication which their commerce had opened with the Chinese, were the means of introducing luxury and effeminacy. The favora ble circumstances of a mild government, a fertile soil, and a coast well adapted to maritime operations, rendered this kingdom one of the most powerful in Eastern Asia. Previous to the middle of the eighteenth century, it had reached the highest degree of improvement in commerce, agriculture, the industry of the inhabitants, and most of the materials of national prosperity.

Pegu and Siam were both excessively weakened by this "war of the idol," which was protracted through a long course of years. At length their mutual weakness forced them to suspend hostilities till about the middle of the seventeenth century, when the Siamese again invaded Pegu, and conquered several provinces. The king of Pegu, being unable to expel the invaders, formed an alliance with the king of Burmah, who sent an army and assisted the Peguans to drive the Siamese beyond their borders. The Burmese king, however, took a treacherous advantage of the weakness of the ally who had sought his protection. He caused the king of Pegu to be assassinated, and his army to be disbanded; after which he found no difficulty in annexing the whole kingdom of Pegu to his dominions. The remainder of the Peguan history will be found incorporated with that of Burmah.

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THE Empire of COCHIN CHINA Comprises Cochin China Proper, Tonquin, and Cambodia — all occupying the eastern coast of Farther India. Cochin China Proper is bounded on the north by Tonquin, on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the south by Tsiampa, and on the west by Laos and Cambodia, being about four hundred miles in length from north to south, and one hundred in breadth. Its common name of Cochin China, is not known to the natives, but was introduced by the Portuguese, to distinguish it from Cochin, on the coast of Malabar. Its native appellation is Dang-trong. It is sometimes called by geographers the kingdom of Anam; this is a popular name, signifying the south country. Almost all the coast is composed of steep cliffs, which, from their rugged forms, and the sharp pinnacles in which they terminate, appear to consist of granite. The great rivers which traverse the country, though they descend from fertile and smiling valleys of the most romantic aspect, are hemmed in by mountains of the same peaked and rugged character as those which border the coast. These rivers are as broad as those of Siam, but their valleys do not include so great an extent of fertile land.

Cochin China formed, in ancient times, one state with Tonquin; but by an insurrection, headed by the governor of Cochin China, the latter was made independ

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Hué, the capital of Cochin China, stands on a river flowing into the Bay of Turon, about ten miles from its mouth. It consists of a large quadrangle, like an immense castle, and forms one of the most complete and remarkable military structures in Asia. It is about a mile and a half square, with a wall thirty feet high, cased with brick. It is built in the European style, with great regularity, having bastions, a glacis two hundred feet broad, and a ditch. Twelve hundred cannon are mounted on the walls, and a garrison of forty thousand men would be required to defend the place. The erection of these walls gave employment to one hundred thousand men. The scenery on the river in the neighborhood of Hué is described as among the most beautiful and interesting in Asia. The fertile valley of this stream is covered with groves of cocoanut trees, fields of the banana and sugar cane, separated by picturesque hedges of bamboo and the prospect is bounded by lofty mountains in the distance.

The Cochin Chinese have a strong resemblance to the inhabitants of the great Chinese empire. Their dress consists of silk gowns or vests of various colors, one upon another. Both sexes carry fans, and never uncover their heads by way of salutation. They are, in general, strong and active, and more courteous in their manners than the Burmese or Siamese. They are also better soldiers, and have a more perfect command of their passions. They are liberal and charitable; yet they will ask for any thing that pleases them, and take denial as an affront. Their language has some resemblance to the Chinese; the religion is Buddhism; and the government is of the same despotic character as that of Burmah and Siam.

TONQUIN lies north of Cochin China. It is the largest and most fertile and valuable of all the three kingdoms subject to the Cochin Chinese monarch, producing rice, cotton, and silk in great abundance. Its mountains contain gold, silver, and iron. It was formerly

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one for each kingdom, exercised almost unlimited | power in their several territories. The general of Cochin China threw off his allegiance, and made himself king of this country. The Tonquinese general, prompted by the success of this rebellion, seized the revenues of the kingdom; but being less desirous of the title of sovereign than of the real power and authority, he left the king in possession of the external splendor of a monarch, on condition that he should retain the absolute command of the army, with the greater part of the public revenues, and that his descendants should succeed to the same honors and possessions. By virtue of this agreement, there were two kings at the head of the government of Tonquin the boua, who wore the crown, and claimed the honors of royalty, and the shoua, or hereditary prime minister and commander-in-chief, who possessed all the kingly power. The boua was kept as a sort of prisoner of state in his own palace, where he diverted himself with his wives, and in giving audience to his subjects. The foreign ambassadors also paid their respects to him, though the administration of affairs was left entirely in the hands of the shoua.

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About the middle of the eighteenth century, Tonquin became disturbed with civil wars; and these gave the boua an opportunity for resuming the sovereign power. Having effected this, he next renewed his claims to the revolted province of Cochin China, where a body of usurpers had overthrown the ancient dynasty of N'guyen. The Tonquinese monarch attempted to interfere in the affairs of this country, but with so little success as to provoke an invasion of his own dominions. One of the usurpers, who headed this enterprise, dethroned the king of Tonquin, and established himself in the sovereignty, retaining also that of the greater part of Cochin China. The right

ful heir of the latter kingdom, however, named Caung Shung, succeeded, by great perseverance, in reconquering his own dominions, and, pursuing the usurper, into the heart of Tonquin, also made himself master of that country in 1802. Caung Shung became in this manner the sovereign of all the eastern part of Farther India. A French missionary, called Bishop Adran, became his prime minister, and under his administration the country was greatly improved. He established a manufactory of saltpetre, made roads and canals, offered bounties for the cultivation of silk, caused large tracts of land to be cleared for raising sugar cane, opened mines of iron, erected smelting furnaces, cannon founderies, and established naval arsenals, equipped a large navy of gun-boats and galleys, and translated into the language of the country a code of European military tactics for the use of the army. Under his direction, a reform was effected in the system of jurisprudence. He established public schools, and compelled parents to send their children to be instructed at the age of four years. He also established commercial regulations, built bridges, caused buoys and sea-marks to be laid down on all the dangerous parts of the coast, and surveys to be made of the bays and harbors. Could this system of public improvement have been continued for any considerable space of time, the character of the nation might have been essentially changed for the better. But scarcely had the country begun to feel the effects of Adran's administration, when his sudden death blasted every prospect. of the wholesome laws and institutions which he had established expired with him. Recently, very little information has reached us from this country.

Most

The character of Tonquin is more decidedly Chinese than that of either of the other kingdoms of Farther India. The largest city is Kesho, which is said to contain one

CAMBODIA-LAOS.

hundred thousand inhabitants; but we have no accurate description of this place. There are but few other cities. The villages consist of thirty or forty houses each they are scattered very thick over the country, and are always surrounded by groves. In the flat and level districts, these are surrounded by banks of earth to keep out the inundations of the wet season. Some trade is carried on between this country and China, and attempts have been made by the English and Dutch to open a commercial intercourse here, but with little success, on account of the arbitrary exactions of the mandarins. The exports from Tonquin consist of cheap silks, lackered ware, and gold. The inhabitants manufacture silk and cotton goods, muskets, porcelain, paper, varnished furniture, &c. They have some literature, particularly in works of eloquence; and the written records of their history go back six hundred years. They have less refinement in manners than the Chinese, but a greater degree of moral vigor. They are described as hospitable, faithful in friendship, and entertaining great respect for civil justice; yet they are accused of vanity, fickleness, dissimulation, and revenge. Buddhism is the religion of the mass, who worship idols, hung in wicker baskets upon trees.

CAMBODIA is bounded north by Laos, east by Cochin China Proper, south by the China Sea, and west by Siam. It is about four hundred miles in length, and two hundred in breadth. The western part is mountainous and wild, but the centre is a fertile valley watered by the River Cambodia, which overflows its banks in midsummer. The country is very productive in rice and other grain, fruit, sapan wood, and other woods, and gamboge, a yellow gum used as a medicine and pigment.

This country seems to have been independent of the neighboring nations for a great length of time, although its sovereign occasionally conciliated the friendship of the Chinese emperors by a present or a tribute. About the year 1716, the king of Siam threatened to invade Cambodia, on which the Cambodians of the frontier laid waste their country for a hundred and fifty miles in extent, and retreated to the capital for safety. They then applied to the king of Cochin China for protection, which he promised, on condition that Cambodia should be united to his dominions. This was agreed to, and an army of fifteen thousand men took the field against the Siamese, while a fleet of three thousand galleys sailed to invade their country. The Siamese forces were double in number to these, but in their march through the country which had been wasted by the Cambodians, they were so distressed by the want of provisions and the sickness occasioned by it, that they lost half their men, and were compelled to retreat. Their fleet at first met with some success. The Cambodian town of Ponteamas was taken and burnt, with much valuable property, including two hundred tons of elephants' teeth. But before the Siamese galleys could return, they were attacked by the Cochin Chinese, and the most of them captured or destroyed. This put an end to the war, and Cambodia was united to Cochin China. About the beginning of the present century, the Siamese made a second attempt, similar to the former. Hostilities continued for some time with Cochin China, and at length it was agreed to settle the dispute by dividing the contested territory. Accordingly, in 1809, Cambodia was partitioned between Cochin China and Siam, and remains thus divided at the present day,

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Sai-gon, the capital of Cambodia, belongs to Cochin China. It is situated near the mouth of the River Dornai. It is a large and flourishing city, containing the naval arsenal built under the direction of Bishop Adran. The markets are plentifully supplied with native produce and that of the neighboring countries. The population is estimated at one hundred and eighty thousand. Sai-gon is the outport of the whole valley of the Dornai, and carries on a considerable trade in ship-building. Cambodia, the ancient capital, stands on the river of that name, and was formerly a flourishing place; but it is now much decayed.

The Cambodians are ingenious, and have manufactures of several sorts of cottons, muslins, calicoes, dimities, &c. They also weave carpets and a coarse stuff for common wear, similar to Scotch plaid. Some indigo is raised in the country for exportation. LAOS, or the SHAN COUNTRY, is bounded north by Assam, east by China, south by Siam and Cambodia, and west by Burmah. It is about nine hundred miles in extent from north to south, and four hundred from east to west. It is very little known, being separated from the surrounding states by lofty mountains and thick forests. The natives have always shown great jealousy of foreigners. They are called Shyans, or Shans, by the Burmese, and Lao, or Lo, by the Chinese; they give themselves the name of Tie. This nation seems to be the parent stock of the Assamese and Siamese ; the names of Assam and Siam are only corruptions of Shyan. The inhabitants of this country are divided into a variety of tribes, and their language has a corresponding number of dialects. According to the accounts of the missionaries who have visited some of them, they are considerably inferior in civilization to their neighbors, yet are acquainted with agriculture and some other useful arts. The country can hardly be said to have a history, though it is supposed to have formed, in ancient times, a powerful and independent state. Occasionally the people have been reduced and overrun by their neighbors; yet the greater part of them continue to maintain a virtual independence. They seem to have avoided, in a great degree, those internal feuds and wars which have so often reduced barbarous nations to a state of weakness and poverty. Some of the tribes practise demon worship, but the greater number have embraced Buddhism. The largest of the Shan towns is Zemmai, on the River Meinam. The Shan manufactures are said to surpass those of the Burmese. The dress is very similar to that of the Chinese. The government is a monarchy, the king being assisted by four counsellors. The laws are derived from the institutes of Menu. Some books are written in the Shan language, which has a character similar to that of the Burmese.

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MALACCA-ORIGIN OF THE MALAYS.

traversed throughout by a chain of lofty mountains, and is covered to a great extent with forests and marshes. This peninsula is supposed by some geographers to be the Golden Chersonesus of the ancients, and the Ophir of Solomon. The level lands are extremely fertile, producing the finest fruits, grains, and vegetables, without artificial culture. Rice is the chief object of agriculture with the natives. The parts known to Europeans furnish cinnamon, pepper, gums, aloes, and sandal wood. The forests are arrayed in perennial verdure, and the air is impregnated with the odor of innumerable flowers, which succeed one another without an interval.

Malays.

The inhabitants of this peninsula are Malays-a race, of whom the original country is not known. The evidence seems to be in favor of the adjoining island of Sumatra, where there are traditions of an emigration to the continent about the middle of the twelfth century. In the Island of Celebes, there is a tradition to the following effect: A celebrated chief of that island, about six or seven hundred years ago, sailed on an exploring and trading voyage to the west. In the course of this expedition, he put into a river of Sumatra, where a large number of his followers deserted in a body, and, penetrating into the interior, formed a settlement called Menankabo. They intermarried with the natives, became in some degree civilized, gradually formed a new race, and rose to dominion. Most of them had been slaves obtained from the Molucca Islands, and employed as woodcutters and drudges on board the fleet of the chief of Celebes. Hence they were called Ma-lays, from mala, to bring, and aya, wood. To this day, the people of Celebes look with contempt on the Malays, and are in the habit of relating this story in proof of the low origin of that nation. A general similarity between the Malaya and the Molucca race has often been remarked; and it is notorious, that the Malay language is spoken with more purity in the Molucca Islands than in the Malayan peninsula.

The Malays of Sumatra extended their conquests and colonies, till the whole island yielded them feudal homage. In the thirteenth century, they crossed the strait and invaded Malacca, the native inhabitants of which seem to have been a species of negroes, nearly

resembling those of Africa. These were driven into the woods and mountains, and the invaders founded the cities of Malacca and Singapore, about the year 1300. Gradually extending their dominions and colonies, they transferred the chief seat of their power to the new territory.

The Portuguese, who arrived in this quarter in the early part of the sixteenth century, found Malacca a rich and flourishing city. Their avarice could not resist so strong a temptation, and a Portuguese armament, under Alfonso de Alboquerque, attacked and captured it in 1511, though the inhabitants made a brave resistance. The plunder was valued at nearly a million and a half of dollars. The conquerors put the king or reigning prince to death, which so exasperated the Siamese and other neighboring nations, that they made war upon the Portuguese, and recaptured Malacca by storm. It was, however, again taken by the latter people, and remained in their possession till the middle of the seventeenth century, when the Dutch, supported by the king of Johore-a territory at the southern extremity of the peninsula - made themselves masters of the city. After repeated vicissitudes of fortune, Malacca was transferred by treaty to Great Britain, in 1824.

This peninsula is the only considerable country wholly occupied by the Malay race. It is now divided into the kingdoms of Queda, Perak, Salengore, Johore, Pahang, Tringano, Calantan, Patani, and Ligore. There are also states in the interior less known, and several wild tribes, without specific districts or locations. Of these hardly any thing is known. Some of them are negroes, much below the Malays in civilization, and apparently but little above the apes and baboons of the forests. These tribes do not even construct dwellings, but lodge in the trees and clefts of the mountains. The Malays are every where Mahometans. Whereever they have established themselves, they have exhibited a strong spirit of proselytism. Commercial and piratical in their character, they have seldom formed settlements far from coasts and harbors, so that their language does not prevail among interior tribes, either on the peninsula or in the islands of the Indian Archipelago. They claim some authority over these tribes, and take precedence of them by superiority of civilization; but the language, manners, and government of the inferior races remain unchanged.

A general character can hardly be assigned to a people scattered over so many countries, and intermingled every where with indigenous tribes. They have generally been described as distinguished for fraud and treachery. This opinion has doubtless been derived from mariners; for, till recently, very few others knew much about them, and the piratical tribes alone have brought themselves into general notice. Disregard of human life, revenge, idleness, and piracy, may perhaps be considered as common to the Malays. The universal practice of going armed makes the thought of murder familiar to them. The right of private revenge is generally admitted, even by the chiefs, and the taking of life may be atoned for by a small sum of money. Their treachery has perhaps been exaggerated. Their religion teaches them to use fraud and violence toward infidels. But there is full reason to believe, that, in intercourse with each other, domestic and private virtues prevail to as great an extent as among other Eastern nations of the same rank in civilization. They are much given to the per

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