with A.D. 638; it is consequently considerably more modern than those generally used in India. The eighth of the decreasing moon, and the last day of the moon, are set apart by the Burmese as sacred festivals. On these hebdominal holidays no public business is transacted, and mercantile engagements are suspended; and the strict observers of them take no sustenance between the rising and the setting of the sun: but the latter instance of self denial is not very common, except in the metropolis. The passage of time is ascertained by a curious machine, resembling the hour-glass, and sometimes by a perforated pan placed in a tub of water. The day commences at noon, and is divided into eight portions, of about three hours each. They are announced by a stroke on an oblong drum, which is always placed near the dwelling of the chief magistrate of the town or village. It is commonly raised on a high bamboo stage, with a roof of mats to protect it from the weather. The edifice at the royal palace in the capital is of masonry, and is very lofty; so that the sound is said to be distinctly conveyed to the remotest parts of the city. The Burmese have little of the indolence of their neighbours; they are, on the contrary, inquisitive, energetic, and passionate, in a high degree. Their women are not secluded as in other parts of the east, but are nevertheless in the same state of general degradation and wretched slavery to the mere gratifications of man. They are frequently sold for prostitution, and are taken as a kind of chattel by a creditor. In the midst of all this they are industrious, and in that constantly useful employment which attaches to their husbands and produces a remarkable degree of fidelity. Colonel Symes mentions, that, on occasion of a formal visit to the mother of the present queen, they observed, in one of the galleries of his palace, three or four looms working by the damsels of his household. Weaving, indeed, is chiefly a female occupation, and most females make all the cotton and silk cloth that is necessary for domestic consumption. For these, amongst other reasons, we suppose, no women, nor even the female children of a casual intercourse with foreigners, are allowed to leave the country. So particular is the Burmhan law in this respect, that, before a ship receives her clearance at any port, she is searched with great care for this valuable commodity, by the customhouse officers, and should a vessel which has by fraud taken out a woman ever return to a Burmhan port, the master would be subject to fine and imprisonment, and the property confiscated. In features, complexion, and general make, the Burmese approach to their Chinese neighbours; like them they pluck out their beards, and blacken their teeth and eyelids like the Hindoos. They also tattoe themselves on the arms and thighs. Coarse and uncleanly in their diet, notwithstanding the prohibitions of their law, they are very fond of animal food. Houses here are generally raised three or four feet from the ground, and built of bamboos and mats: few are allowed by their laws to indulge in the luxury of lackering or gilding the pillars of their abode. They do not contract marriages till the parties have attained the age of puberty; and are restricted to one wife; but concubinage is allowed. They burn their dead; and their widows are decently provided for. The practice of their physicians is almost entirely empirical; and, accordingly, they are not held in high estimation. Dr. Buchanan mentions a curious custom respecting them. If a young woman appears to be dangerously ill, the physician and her parents frequently enter into an agreement, by which he undertakes to cure her. If the doctor is successful, he takes her as his property; but if she dies, he pays a certain sum for her to the parents. In surgery, the skill of the Burmese extends only to the dressing of wounds and setting of bones. But of late they have introduced from Arracan the art of inoculation. The practice, however, makes but slow progress, although a very great proportion of the people are marked with small pox. The Baptist missionary, Mr. Felix Carey, introduced in 1808 the vaccine inoculation into the city of Rangoon, and performed the operation on a considerable number of people; among others, on the family of the governor. The nobles dress in a superb robe of flowered satin or velvet, reaching to the ancles, with an open collar, and loose sleeves. Over this is a scarf, or flowing mantle, which hangs from their shoulders; and on their heads they wear high caps of velvet, either plain, or of silk embroidered with flowers of gold. Some persons of condition wear for ear-rings tubes of gold, about three inches long, and as thick as a large quill, which expand at one end like the mouth of a trumpet; others wear a heavy mass of gold, beaten into a plate, and rolled up. This lump of metal drags down the lobe of the ear by its weight to the extent of two inches, and makes a considerable orifice in it. In their common dress, men of rank wear a tight coat, with long sleeves, made of muslin, or of very fine nankeen, and a silk wrapper that encircles the waist. The working classes are usually naked to the middle; but, in cold weather, they make use of a mantle or vest of European cloth. When women of quality go abroad, they wear a silk sash like a long shawl, which crosses their bosom, and is cast over the shoulder so as to flow down very gracefully. The poorer females often wear only a single garment, in the form of a sheet, wrapped round the body, and tucked under the arm; it crosses their breasts, which it scarcely conceals, and descends to their ancles in such a manner that the legs protrude from under it when they attempt to walk. Rank is regarded with particular attention. No one dare assume in his house a mode of structure to which he is not legally entitled, under the penalty of a most severe punishment; and even in the domestic instruments, in the shape of the betel box, which is carried by an attendant before one of noble birth, as well as in his ear-rings, his cup of ceremony, the accoutrements of his horse, and even in the metal of which his spitting-box is made, the due subordination and station of a Burmhan appears. The sitting posture is, among the Burmese, the most respectful, so that strangers are very apt to attribute to pride, what, in their view, is a mark of deference. Among their amusements are boxing-matches, processions, fire-works, public dances, and puppet-shows. They are particularly fond of dramatic entertainments. At Pegue is a theatre, in an open court, often splendidly illuminated by lamps and torches. Indeed, at all festivals they have entertainments, consisting of music, dancing, and action, with a dialogue in recitation. The higher ranks are particularly fond of chess. The board which they use is exactly similar to ours, containing sixty-four squares, and the number of troops the same, sixteen on each side; but the names, the power, and the disposal of them, differ. On the last day of the year a curious custom prevails. Women are accustomed on this day to throw water on every man they meet, and the men have the privilege of retaliating, a licence which gives rise to a great deal of harmless merriment, particularly among the young women, who, armed with large syringes and flaggons, endeavour to wet every man that passes the streets; and, in their turn, receive the same compliment. Dirty water is never employed; nor is a man allowed to lay hold of a woman, but he may cast as much water over her as he pleases, provided she has been the aggressor. If a woman warns a man that she does not mean to join in the diversion, it is considered as an avowal of pregnancy, and she is exempt from attack. This empire was founded by an obscure, but able and enterprising, village chieftain, in the middle of the last century. In the sixteenth century, Ava, with its dependent territory, was subject to the king of Pegue; but revolts frequently took place, until the Burmese, in 1752, were completely defeated; and Ava, the capital of the empire, after a short seige, surrendered at discretion. At this time Dweepdee, the last of a long line of kings of Ava, and all his family, except two sons, were taken prisoners: the latter fled for protection to the court of Siam; and the unhappy king was soon after cruelly murdered. In these contests the French frequently assisted the Peguese, while British gold, and British influence, favored our present enemies the Bur mese. But a champion now arose in the person of Alompra, the first sovereign of the present dynasty, possessed of a spirit of enterprise equal to the most arduous undertakings, and of the greatest wisdom and coolness to adapt his measures to the difficult circumstances of his country. He had been appointed by the Peguese conqueror to the command of a small district round Monchaboo, and had only in the first instance about 100 picked men devoted to his cause. With these, however, he overpowered the enemy in his immediate neighbourhood, and, advancing unexpectedly on Ava, compelled them to abandon it. In 1754 an expedition was fitted out from Pegue to retake this important possession. About the same time the eldest son of the late king endeavoured to assert his right to the throne: but Alompra soon compelled the latter to retire finally to the Siamese territory, and defeated Beinga, the king of Pegue, in a pitched battle near Prome, with immense slaughter. Successive armies of the Peguese, assisted by French officers, were subdued by the Burmhau chieftain, who in 1756 obtained possession of Syriam by surprise, and thus cut off all communication between the enemy and the western countries of Dalla and Bassien, deprived them of the navigation of the Rangoon river and the Erawady, and shut them out from all foreign aid. In January, 1757, he undertook the siege of the city of Pegue by circumvallation, a favorite practice among the Burmese, and a negociation was opened, which terminated in an agreement, that the king of Pegue should become tributary to the Burmhan monarch. His daughter was surrendered to the victor as a pledge of his allegiance. Notwithstanding these arrangements, however, Alompra still pressed the siege, and at last obtained possession of the town by famine, and abandoned it to indiscriminate slaughter. At this time an envoy being sent to him from the British factory at the Negrais, he was very lofty in his carriage, and displayed with great complacency the numerous captives of the royal forces of Pegue in his train. Alompra now proceeded to bring into subjection the countries to the eastward, including the fertile districts between Pegue and the three Pagodas: he also reduced Tavoy, and proceeded to chastise the Siamese for the support and encouragement which they had afforded his different enemies. After various achievements, the victor advanced towards the capital of that kingdom; but two days after the commencement of the siege, was taken ill of a disease which he foresaw would prove mortal, and therefore gave orders for an immediate retreat. Before, however, he reached the seat of his empire he died, May 15th, 1760, in the fiftieth year of his age, much regretted by his people; and, whether viewed in the light of a soldier or a politician, is undoubtedly entitled to considerable respect. He decidedly improved all the territory he subjugated, and studied the prosperity of his subjects. He severely restrained the use of spirituous liquors; issued au edict against all gambling; and reformed the courts of justice, prohibiting magistrates to decide at their private houses on criminal causes, or with regard to property, when the amount exceeded a certain sum: every process of importance was to be decided in public, and every decree registered. He was succeeded by his eldest son Namdojee, who followed his plans for promoting the improvement of the country, and died, after suppressing some unimportant revolts, in 1764. He left an infant son named Momien, whom his uncle Shembuan deprived of the crown. The new monarch, on ascending the throne, declared war against the Siamese, and after various rencounters, proceeded to invest Siam, the ircapital. The king of Siam, finding resistance hopeless, secretly withdrew from the town, in order to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy: and eluding the Burmhan outposts, sought refuge among the hills, where he perished, but in what manner is not known. His generals, now deserted, agreed to capitulate; the fortifications of the city were destroyed, and a governor was appointed, who took an oath of allegiance to the Burmhan monarchy, and engaged to pay an annual tribute, However, the conqueror had no sooner withdrawn, than one of the king's relations returned at the head of a numerous army, displaced the new government, and abolished all the regulations that had been imposed on the Siamese. Shembuan now therefore despatched a new army to suppress the insurrection; but, in the mean time, the Chinese had sent an army of 50,000 into one of his northern provinces. The troops of Shembuan advanced to meet them, and surrounding the enemy on all sides, attacked them with such impetuosity, that after a conflict of three days, the latter entirely sunk under the pressure of superior numbers, and the carnage was dreadful. Not an individual of the Chinese army, it is said, returned home to relate the melancholy tale; about 2500 prisoners were however preserved, and conducted in fetters to Ava, where they were encouraged to marry and settle. This second founder of the empire, after various other military exploits, died in 1776, and was succeeded by his son Chenquza. proved wholly unlike his father, and, being an abandoned debauchee, was deposed and put to death by his uncle Mindrajee Praw, in 1782. He This person was the fourth son of the great Alompra, the founder of the dynasty. One of his first acts was to drown his nephew Momien (the son of Namdojee Praw, the second sovereign), by fixing him betwixt two jars, which were sunk in the stream, the usual Burmhan mode, we are told, of executing members of the royal family. He, however, was himself soon deprived both of his life and diadem, by a desperado, named Magoung, who, with about 100 confederates, attacked him and his guards in his own palace, where they all fell. Minderajee transferred the seat of empire from Ava to Ummerapoora. Of Ava, as he saw it, colonel Symes, says, 'The walls are mouldering into ruin, ivy clings to the sides, and bushes, suffered to grow at the bottom, undermine the foundation, and have already caused large chasms in the different faces of the forts. The materials of the houses, consisting chiefly of wood, had, on the first order for removing, been transported to the new city of Ummerapoora; but the ground, unless when it is covered with bushes or rank grass, still retains traces of former buildings and streets. The lines of the royal palace, of the grand council hall, the apartments of the women, and the spot on which the peasath or imperial spire had stood, were pointed out to us by our guide. Clumps of bamboos, a few plantain trees, and tall thorns, occupy the greater part of the area of the lately flourishing capital. We observed two dwelling houses of mortar and brick, the roofs of which had fallen in. These, our guides said, had belonged to foreigners. On cutering one, we found it inhabited only by bats, which flew in our faces, whilst our sense of smelling was affected by their filth, and by the noisome mildew that hung upon the walls. Numerous temples, on which the Burmese never lay sacrilegious hands, were dilapidating by time. It is impossible to draw a more striking picture of desolation and ruin.' In the year 1783 the Burmese sent a fleet of boats against Arracan, which, after a slight resistance, was completely conquered, and Mahasumda, the rajah, and his family, made prisoners. The surrender of Cheduba, Ramree, and the Broken Isles, followed. In 1785 they attacked the Siamese island of Junkseylon, with a fleet of boats and an army; but were ultimately compelled to retreat. The Burmhan monarch, whose pride was thus deeply mortified, resolved to repair the disgrace; and, in 1786, invaded Siam with an army of 30,000 men, but was again defeated, near the frontiers, by Pictick Single, the king of Siam; his useless cannon taken, and himself escaping with great difficulty. The Siamese, in the year 1790, obtained possession of Tavoy by treachery, which the Burmese, in 1791 regained by the same means; and that year compelled the Siamese to raise the siege of Mergui. In 1793 peace was concluded with the latter, who ceded to the Burmese the western maritime towns as far south as Mergui, or the entire possession of the coast of Tenasserim, and the important sea ports of Mergui and Tavoy. In 1795 commenced our first dispute with this formidable native power. The Burmhan monarch learning that three noted banditti of Arracan, had taken refuge in the British district of Chittagong, ordered a body of 5000 men to enter the Company's territories, with positive instructions not to return unless he brought with him the delinquents dead or alive; he afterwards supported this detachment with an army of 20,000 men, held in readiness in Arracan. General Erskine was now therefore ordered to advance with a strong detachment of the Company's troops from Calcutta, who were met by a battalion of Europeans by water, and the native sepoys. In the interim, the Chittagong magistrates had apprehended the fugitives. On the approach of the British, Seree Ninda Kiazo, the Burmhan commander, sent a flag of truce, proposing terms, and stipulating for the surrender of the fugitives as the basis of them. The British general replied, that no terms could be listened to while the Burmese continued on the Company's territories; but that as soon as they should withdraw within their own frontier, he would enter on the subject of their complaints; notifying also, that unless they evacuated their camp, which they had fortified, in a limited time, force would be used to compel them. The Burmese chief now personally waited on General Erskine, and disclosed his instructions, the enormity of the offenders, the outrages they had committed, &c. The British commander, on the other hand, repeated that it was impossible for him to retract: but assured his visitant that the Company's agents had no desire to protect offenders, and would quickly prove this on the retreat of the hostile force. This was at last agreed to, and conducted in the most orderly manner: not one act of violence having been committed during its continuance in Chittagong. The guilt of the refugees being established, they were immediately delivered over to the Burmhan authorities, and a good understanding was re-established. The origin of the late dispute, its fluctuating character, and we trust, its final termination, will meet our attention in the article INDIA, BRITISH BURN', v. & n. BURN'ER, BURN'ING, Goth. brenna, brina, perhaps from arin, fire, Per. BURN ING-GLASS. Suryan, Teut. brennan, Sax. birnan, bernan, Lat. uro, Heb. buur, from Chald. and Heb. ur, IIup, Lat. pruina. To consume by fire, to be hot, to be on fire; to be kindled; to shine, to sparkle, Met Passion inflamed to a heating or burning excess, whether love, anger, jealousy, hate, or desire. Wher that the fire was gret and brent fast. Chaucer He causeth the' one to rage with golden burning dart, And doth alay with leaden colde again the others hart, Whote glemes of burning fire, and easy sparkes of flame, In balance of unegal weight he pondereth by aime. Aunswere him faire with yea or nay. Wyat. The Lady to answere directly with Yea or Nay. polished to a dazzling brightness, so that it shall seem to burn. Chaucer and Gower write burn, in the sense of burnish. And downward from an hill under a bent, Ther stood the temple of Mars armipotent Wrought all of burned stele, of which the' entree Was longe and streite, and gastly for to see. Chaucer. The Knightes Tale, v. 1985. And Phebus died hath hire tresses grete, Like to the stremes of his burned hete. Id. The Doctoures Tale, v. 11972. And euermore, as it is tolde, Of swerde, of plate, and eke of maile. Gower. Conf. Am. bk. v. Which did themselves amongst the leaves enfold, Mislike me not for my complexion, Like a glad lover the fierce flames he meets, BURN'. Goth. brun; Swed. brunn; Teut. brun, burn, from Goth. rinna; Islan. brynna, to run; a small stream of water or rivulet. BURN, in medicine and surgery, a lesion of the animal body, occasioned by the application of heat. The life of the part may be at once destroyed by these accidents, or mortification speedily follow the violent inflammation excited; but when slight, it usually produces an effusion of serum under the cuticle, like a blister. When the injury is extensive, considerable fever is apt to supervene, sometimes a comatose state; and a remarkable difficulty of breathing often precedes death. In the treatment of these accidents, two very different methods have been pursued. The more ancient plan consists in antiphlogistic means, giving cooling purgatives, &c. and even taking blood, where the irritation is great; employing at the same time cold applications, and where the skin is destroyed, emollient dressings; opium was also recommended to relieve the pain, notwithstanding stupor might attend. More re cently, a surgeon at Newcastle, of the name of Kentish, has deviated from the ancient practice; applying first oil of turpentine, alcohol, &c. heated as much as the sound parts could bear, and gradually lessening the stimulus; in the mean time supporting the patient by a cordial diet, æther, &c. and giving opium largely to lessen the irritation. A considerable connexion with smelting furnaces, where accidents of this description are of very frequent occurrence, enables us confidently to state, that turpentine is one of the best possible applications. Where, however, the skin is torn, let lint, dipped in sweet oil, be laid next the part, and turpentine on lint likewise be laid over it, and occasionally renewed, till the fire is entirely drawn out. BURNET (Gilbert), bishop of Salisbury, in the latter end of the seventeenth century, was born at Edinburgh, in 1643, of an ancient Aberdeenshire family. His father being bred to the law, was, at the Restoration, appointed one of the lords of session, with the title of lord Cramond. Our author, his youngest son, he himself instructed in the Latin tongue; and, at ten years of age, sent him to the university of Aberdeen, where he was admitted M. A. before he was fourteen. His own inclination led him to the study of the law; and from this he stated himself to derive more just notions concerning civil society and government, than those which many divines maintain. About a year after, to the great satisfaction of his father, he relinquished his legal pursuits, and began to apply to divinity. He was admitted preacher before he was eighteen ; and Sir Alexander Burnet, his cousingerman, offered him a benefice, which he refused. In 1663, about two years after the death of his father, he went into England; and left his native land in 1664, to make the tour of Holland and France. At Amsterdam, by the help of a Jewish rabbi, he perfected himself in the Hebrew language; and became acquainted with the leading men of the different persuasions tolerated in that country; among all of whom, he says, he met with men of such unfeigned piety and virtue, that he became fixed in principles of universal charity, and an invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of religious opinion. Upon his return from his travels, he was admitted minister of Salton; and performed the duties of his station five years in the most exemplary manner. At this period he memorialised the Scots bishops, on the errors of their administration. In 1669 he published his Modest and Free Conference between a Conformist and Non-Conformist; and became acquainted with the duchess of Hamilton, who communicated to him all the papers belonging to her father and her uncle; upon which he drew up the Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton. The duke of Lauderdale now invited him to London, and introduced him to king Charles II.. Returning to Scotland, he married the lady Margaret Kennedy, daughter of the earl of Cassillis; a lady of great piety and knowledge, and highly esteemed by the presbyterians. The day before their marriage, our author voluntarily settled her whole fortune on this lady. The same year he published his Vindication of the Authority, Constitution, and Laws of the Church and State of Scotland; which at that juncture was regarded as so great a public service, that he was offered a bishopric; but did not accept of it, because he could not approve of the measures of the court. His intimacy with the dukes of Hamilton and Lauderdale occasioned him to be sent for frequently by the king and the duke of York, who had conversations with him in private. But Lauderdale conceiving a jealousy of him, represented at last to the king, that Dr. Burnet was engaged in an opposition to his measures. The duke of York, however, treated him with greater civility than ever, and dissuaded him from going to Scotland. Upon this, he resigned his professorship at Glasgow, and staid in London. About this time the living of Cripplegate was offered him by the dean and chapter of St. Paul's; but, as he had been informed of their first intention of conferring it on Dr. Fowler, he declined it. In 1675, at the recommendation of lord Hollis, whom he had known in France, he was, by Sir Harbottle Grimstone, appointed preacher of the Rolls chapel, notwithstanding the opposition of the court. He was soon after chosen a lecturer of St. Clement's, and became very popular. In 1679 he published his History of the Reformation, for which he had the thanks of both houses of parliament. The first part of it was published in 1679, and the second in 1681. Next year he published an abridgment of these two parts. Dr. Burnet about this time happening to visit a woman in sickness, who had been engaged in an amour with the earl of Rochester, he became acquainted with that nobleman, and for a whole winter, he spent one evening in a week with him. The happy effect of these conferences occasioned the publication of his well-known account of the life and death of his lordship. In 1682, when the administration was changed in favor of the duke of York, being much resorted to by persons of all ranks and parties, in order to avoid returning visits, he built a laboratory, and went for a year through a course of chemical experiments. Not long after, he refused a living of £300 a year, offered him by the earl of Essex, on the terms of his not residing there, but in London. The king now offered him the bishopric of Chichester, if he would engage in his interests; but he refused to accept it on these terms. He preached at the Rolls till 1684, when he was dismissed by order of the court. About this time he published several pieces. On king James's accession, having obtained leave to go out of the kingdom, he first went to Paris, and lived in great retirement, till contracting an acquaintance with brigadier Stouppe, a Protestant gentleman in the French service, he made a tour with him into Italy, and met with an agreeable reception at Rome. Pope Innocent XI. hearing of his arrival, sent the captain of the Swiss guards to acquaint him he would give him a private audience in bed, to avoid the ceremony of kissing his holiness's slipper. But Dr. Burnet excused himself. Some disputes which he had concerning religion were shortly after noticed, and, on an intimation from prince Borghese, he was obliged hastily to leave the city. He pursued his travels through Switzerland and Ger |