1827.

BURKING-BURMAH.

A quarto edition of his writings was published 1797-| three well-marked divisions: 1. Northern B., inhaOctavo editions appeared in 1834, 1842, 1852, bited chiefly by Singphos, Shans, and other tribes; 2. B. Proper; 3. The Eastern Shan tributary states. The area of B. proper, from lat. 24° N. to the frontier of Pegu, is 44,450 square miles, with a population of about 1,200,000.

1858, &c. His life has been written by Dr. Bissett;
Matthew Prior, in 1826; Dr. G. Croly, Political Life,
1840; Peter Burke, Public and Domestic Life, 1853,
and by T. Macknight, 1858.

BURKING. See ANATOMY (in Law).
BURLEIGH,

CECIL.

WILLIAM CECIL, Lord.

See

Physical features.-From the eastern extremity of the great transverse mountain-barrier of Northern India, longitudinal ranges strike away southwards, and between two of these the Burman territories are situated. The country slopes from the highland regions of the north towards the coast, and has been fitly described as a varied surface of rolling upland, interspersed with alluvial basins and sudden ridges of hill.'

The principal river, the Irrawaddy (q. v.), having its source amid the snowy mountains from which descends the Brahmaputra, is the great commercial highway of the country, through the heart of which it takes its course. Passing Amarapura, Ava, and other towns, it enters Pegu, and, 90 miles below Prome, divides into an eastern and western branch, the former flowing past Rangoon, the latter

BURLEʼSQUE (from Ital. burla, jest, mockery), denoting a style of speaking, acting, writing, drawing, is a low and rude grade of the comic. The legitimate comic brings together contrasts with a final view to harmonizing and reconciling them; the B. distorts and caricatures, and brings the incongruities into stronger relief. The farce is the B. of comedy. Deformities and monstrosities that excite disgust do not belong to the burlesque. The lofty and the abject, the great and the little are conjoined, with the sole view of exciting a laugh. Nor does the true B. turn real greatness and nobility into laughter, but only sham greatness-false pathos, and all hollow pre-forming the Bassein river. The Kyen-dwen is its tension and affectation. The B. style appears to have been unknown to the ancients; it originated among the Italians, more particularly with the poet Berni (q. v.). The genuinely national bufone of the Italians personates the burlesque. Carlo Gozzi, in his tragi-comedies, is perhaps the greatest in the B. vein. Scarron among the French, and IIudibras in English, are examples. Parody or travesty (q. v.) is a species of burlesque.

principal tributary. To the east of the Irrawaddy, the Salween, after an almost parallel course, enters the British territories in nearly the same latitude. known-the dry and the rainy, which are regulated Climate. On the coast, only two seasons by the north-east and the south-west monsoons; but in B. proper, less rain falls, and there are three seasons-the cold, the hot, and the rainy. Some showers fall in May or June, but the great rains BURLETTA, a comic operetta or musical farce. last from the middle of August to the end of BURLINGTON, a port of entry and seat of jusOctober. The cool season is from the middle of tice of Chittenden co., Vermont, is situated on the E. October till the beginning of April, and from this side of Lake Champlain, 40 miles by railroad W. N. W. month till the great rains is the hot part of the of Montpelier, and by steamboat 82 miles N. of White- year, the thermometer ranging from 85° to 100°. hall. Lat. 44° 27' N.; lon. 73° 10′ W. The Uni-The climate is, on the whole, healthy, but the versity of Vermont located here was founded in 1791. jungles are very pestiferous. There are 7375 tons of shipping owned here. The Minerals.-B. has vast fields of mineral wealth, town contains 4 banks, 3 newspaper offices, and a but little enterprise and capital are brought to bear number of churches. Burlington has direct commu- upon them. There are gold mines at Bamo, near nication by railroad with Boston, Whitehall, Ogdens- the Chinese frontier. Auriferous sand is found in burg, and Montreal. Settled in 1783. Pop. 1870, 14,387. many of the streams. Silver is obtained at Bau-dwen, BURLINGTON, a city and port of entry of Bur-likewise on the confines of China, and also in the lington co., New Jersey, on the Delaware, 20 miles above Philadelphia, and 12 miles S. W. of Trenton. Lat. 40° 5' N.; lon. 74° 50′ W. The Camden and Amboy Railroad connects it with New York and Philadelphia, and the Mount Holly Railroad with Pemberton. The city contains 11 churches, 2 banks, 1 newspaper, and a public library. There are two large and flourishing boarding-schools. Burlington College, of this place, was founded by the Episcopalians in 1846, and had, in 1863, 72 students, with a library of 2000 vols. The tonnage of the district in 1854 was 13,219. Settled in 1667, and was originally called New Beverly. Pop. 7000.

BURLINGTON. See BRIDLINGTON.

BU'RMAH, EMPIRE OF, called also the EMPIRE OF AVA, an important kingdom of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, formerly of great extent; but by two contests with the British power in India, it lost several provinces, and is now, in its widest sense and including tributary states, comprehended between 19° 29' and 28° N. lat., and 93° and 100° E. long., having an area of 190,000 square miles, and a scanty population estimated at about 4,000,000. It is bounded on the N. by lofty mountains, separating it from Assam and Tibet; on the E., by China; on the S., by the British province of Pegu; and on the W., by Munnipore and mountainranges dividing it from Tipperah, Chittagong, and Aracan. The Burman empire, as it now exists, has

442

Shan country, from whence comes the chief supply of lead. Iron is quarried at Poukpa, a lofty mountain a few miles east of Pagan The celebrated ruby mines of B. are situated 60 or 70 miles northeast from the capital, and are jealously guarded. Sapphires of great size are found in the same stratum, but are more rare. The annual value of the gems is estimated at from £12,000 to £15,000 sterling, and they are the property of the king. Wells of the mineral oil, petroleum, are worked at Ye-nan-gyoung, on the Irrawaddy, above Prome. Marble, noble serpentine, and amber are likewise found in large quantities.

Vegetable productions.-A few only of the most striking of these can be noticed. Of the graceful palm-tribe (Palmaceae), the cocoa-nut, the betel, the palmyra, and the nipa, or water-palm, are the most prized. The useful bamboo is widely diffused. The teak, of which B. possesses inexhaustible forests, and the hopea, are amongst the most valuable of the timber-trees. Forests of pine grow to the eastward of Amarapura. The wood oil tree is found on the higher Salween, one trunk of which will produce from 30 to 40 gallons of oil every season. The staple fruit of the country is the plantain or banana. The jack is prized by the natives. The mango reaches the height of 100 feet, and produces a delicious fruit. Rice, wheat, tobacco, indigo, and cotton are cultivated.

Animals.-The Felidae, or cat family, abound.

BURMAH.

tigers, leopards, and tiger-cats being met with in every part of the country. Of the Pachydermata, the elephant and rhinoceros are the most noteworthy. The elephant, buffalo, and Indian ox have been domesticated.

kyoungs are thus converted into national schools. The vows of a pon-gyee include celibacy, poverty, and the renunciation of the world; but from these he may at any time be released, and return to a secular life. Hence, nearly every youth assumes the yellow robe for a time, as a meritorious act, or for the purpose of study, and the ceremony of making a pon-gyee is one of great importance. The ostensible object of the brotherhood is the more perfect observance of the laws of Buddha. The order is composed of five classes-viz., young men who wear the yellow robe and live in the kyoungs, but are not professed members; those on whom the title and character of pon-gyees have been solemnly conferred with the usual ceremonies; the heads or governors of the several communities; provincials, whose jurisdiction extends over their respective provinces; and, lastly, a superior general, or great master, who directs the affairs of the order through

Ethnology.-The Burmans belong to that branch of the Mongolidæ characterised by a monosyllabic language; they are short-headed, broad-skulled, and flat-faced. The hair is black, and the skin of a deep brown colour. Their dress is simple, but peculiar. The in-gie, a white linen jacket, is common to both sexes. Wrapped round the lower part of the body, the men wear the put-so, which is several yards in length; the women, the te-mine, a scant garment of cotton or silk. Silks, muslins, and valuable gold ornaments are worn on especial occasions. Betelnut chewing and cigar-smoking are greatly practised by both men and women. The Burmans are, generally speaking, fine, well-made men, and excel in wrestling, boxing, rowing, foot-ball, and other ath-out the empire. letic exercises; they are clever as carpenters and smiths. Burman houses are made of a framework of bamboo, thatched with the leaf of the water-palm, and are invariably raised on posts several feet from the ground. The women are more industrious than the men; they buy, sell, weave, and attend to the domestic concerns. Both sexes delight in merry-making, feasting, buffoonery, and sight-seeing. A pooay, or theatrical representation, is a very favourite amusement, and a buffalo-fight attracts crowds of spectators. The Burman has little patriotism, but is attached to his home. Without individual cruelty, he is indifferent to the shedding of blood by his rulers. Though temperate and hardy, he dislikes discipline and continued employment; and when in power, is too often arrogant, arbitrary, and corrupt.

Besides the true Burman, a great variety of races inhabit the Burman territories. The Telaings, or Moans, descendants of the ancient Peguans, are pretty well amalgamated with the Burmans. The Shans, or Tai, perhaps the most numerous and widely diffused of the Indo-Chinese peoples, are scattered over the peninsula, from Munnipore to Bangkok. Of the eastern Sham states, some are tributary to B., others to Siam, while those west of the Irrawaddy are wholly under Burman rule. The Singphos cluster round the mountains of the north, and along the western mountain-boundary of Burmah, wild Kyhens, and many tribes under different names, live in varying degrees of civilisation. The Karens are met with chiefly in Southern Burmah.

Religion.-Buddhism (q. v.) is the prevailing religion of B., where it has been preserved in great purity. Its monuments, temples, pagodas, and monasteries, are innumerable; its festivals are carefully observed, and its monastic system is fully established in every part of the kingdom. While directing the reader to the special article on BUDDHISM for an account of its doctrines, history, &c., we may here glance at its development, institutions, and edifices among the Burnians.

The members of the monastic fraternity are known in B. as pon-gyees, meaning great glory; but the Pali word is rahan, or holy man. The pon-gyees are not priests, in the usual acceptation of the term, but rather monks. Their religious ministrations are confined to sermons, and they do not interfere with the worship of the people. They are a very numerous class, living in monasteries, or kyoungs, and may at once be known by their yellow robes (the colour of mourning), shaven heads, and bare feet. They subsist wholly by the charity of the people, which, however, they well repay by instructing the boys of the country. The

No provision is made for religion by the government, but it meets with liberal support from the people. A pon-gyee is held in profound veneration; his person is sacred, and he is addressed by the lordly title of pra or phra; nor does this reverence terminate with his death. On the decease of a distinguished member, his body is embalmed, while the limbs are swathed in linen, varnished, and even gilded. The mummy is then placed on a highly decorated cenotaph, and preserved, sometimes for months, until the grand day of funeral. The Burman rites of cremation are very remarkable, but we cannot here enlarge upon them. On the whole, a favourable opinion may be passed on the monastic fraternity of B.; although abuses have crept in, discipline is more lax than formerly, and many doubtless assume the yellow robe from unworthy motives.

In B., the last Buddha is worshipped under the name of Gautama. His images crowd the temples, and many are of a gigantic size. The days of worship are at the new and full moon, and seven days after each; but the whole time, from the full moon of July to the full moon of October, is devoted by the Burmans to a stricter observance of the ceremonies of their religion. During the latter month, several religious festivals take place, which are so many social gatherings and occasions for grand displays of dress, dancing, music, and feasting. At such times, barges full of gaily-dressed people, the women dancing to the monotonous dissonance of a Burman band, may be seen gliding along the rivers to some shrine of peculiar sanctity. The worship on these occasions has been described by an eye-witness, in 1857, as follows: 'Arrived at the pagodas and temples, the people suddenly turn from pleasure to devotion. Men bearing ornamental paper-umbrellas, fruits, flowers, and other offerings, crowd the image-houses, present their gifts to the favourite idol, make their shek-ho, and say their prayers with all dispatch. Others are gluing more gold-leaf on the face of the image, or saluting him with crackers, the explosion of which in nowise interferes with the serenity of the worshippers. The women for the most part remain outside, kneeling on the sward, just at the entrance of the temple, where a view can be obtained of the image within.' On another occasion, we read: The principal temple being under repair, was much crowded by bamboo scaffolding, and new pillars were being put up, each bearing an inscription with the name of the donor. The umbrellas brought as offerings were so numerous, that one could with difficulty thread a passage through them. Some were pure white, others white and gold, while many boasted all the colours of the

BURMAH.

rainbow. | They were made of paper, beautifully of Gautama. The most remarkable specimen of Bur

cut into various patterns. There were numerous altars and images, and numberless little Gautamas; but a deep niche or cave, at the far end of which was a fat idol, with a vellow cloth wrapped round him, seemed a place of peculiar sanctity. This recess would have been quite dark, had it not been for the numberless tapers of yellow wax that were burning before the image. The closeness of the place, the smoke from the candles, and the fumes from the quantity of crackers constantly being let off, rendered respiration almost impossible. An old pon-gyee, however, the only one I ever saw in a temple, seemed quite in his element; his shaven bristly head and coarse features looking ugly enough to serve for some favourite idol, and he seemed a fitting embodiment of so senseless and degrading a worship. Offerings of flowers, paper-ornaments, flags, and candles were scattered about in profusion. The beating a bell with a deer's horn, the explosion of crackers, and the rapid muttering of prayers, made up a din of sounds, the suitable accompaniment of so misdirected a devotion.'

The rosary is in general use, and the Pali words Aneitya! doka! anatta! expressing the transitory nature of all sublunary things, are very often repeated. The Burman is singularly free from fanaticism in the exercise of his religion, and his most sacred temples may be freely entered by the stranger without offence; indeed, the impartial observer will hardly fail to admit that Buddhism, in the absence of a purer creed, possesses considerable influence for good in the country under consideration. Reciprocal kindnesses are promoted, and even the system of merit and demerit-the one leading to the perfect state of Nirvana, the other punishing by a degrading metempsychosis-has no doubt some moral effect.

man temple-architecture is the Ananda of Pagan. The ground-plan takes the form of a perfect Greek cross; and a tapering spire, with a gilded tee at the height of 168 feet from the foundation, crowns the whole. 3. The kyoung is generally constructed with a roof of several diminishing stages, and is often adorned with elaborate carved work and gilding. Burman architecture 'differs essentially from that of India in the frequent use of the pointed arch, not only for doors and windows, but also in the vaulted coverings of passages'

Cities.-Amarapura, the present capital of B., and seat of royalty, is built on a peninsula of the Irrawaddy, a few miles above Ava. It is laid out foursquare, and bounded by a defensive wall of brick; the palace occupies the centre. Ava, for a long time. the capital of the empire, has been for years almost a desert. Pagan represents the past of B., and is remarkable for its magnificent ruins of templearchitecture, extending over a space of 8 square miles; the prevailing type is the cruciform vaulted temple.

The

Government.-The government of B. is a pure despotism, life and property being at the mercy of the reigning sovereign. Many instances of the cruel abuse of arbitrary power, by even recent kings, might be given. The present monarch is, however, mild, approachable, and apparently desires the welfare and happiness of his subjects. The Lot-dan, or High Court of Council, is composed of the four woon-gyees, or principal ministers of state. atwen-woons, or household ministers, are likewise four in number. They receive the royal commands, and are in close attendance upon the king. The woon-douks are a third order of ministers, and act as assistants to the woon-gyees. The decisions of the lot-dau, when sanctioned by the king, become law. The Dam-a-that, a Burman translation of the Institutes of Menu, is also in force. White umbrellas and white elephants are regarded as insignia of royalty. The 'Lord White Elephant,' indeed, is looked on as an estate of the realm, a mark of universal sovereignty, and a sacred being. It has a palace, a minister, and numerous attendants.-The ၆၇

The religious edifices are of three kinds: 1. The pagoda (Zadee or Tsa-dee), a monument erected to the last Buddha, is a solid, bell-shaped mass of plastered brickwork, tapering to the summit, which is crowned by the tee, or umbrella, of open ironwork. 2. The temple, in which are many images

ဆော်သဉ်:၊ဝိညည်မနိုင်ကြောင်းကို နှစ်လုံးသွင်း
ထြဝ
ဲ။ သင်တို့ ကိုယ် ခန္ဓာ သေသော နောက်၊
ဝိညည်သည်ချမ်းသာစွာနေရအောပ်အသစ်သို့ပြုရ
မည်ကို၊ သရာမိဘထံတောင်းပန်မေးမြန်းရ ကြမည်။
ငါသည်လည်းသင်တို့ဝိညည်အကြောင်းကို။ အခြား
သောစ၁ငယ် ၌ပြောကောင်းပြောထေဦးမဉ်ထု၊ သင်
တို့၏မိတ်ဆွေ ဖြစ်ဿ၊အမေရိကံဆရာ၊ဂဝေသောက်
ပြေ၁၍နယ်ဆက်ပေ၏။

Specimen of Burmese Writing.

military power of the country is not great, and of musketeers it is probable that the king could not command more than 18,000.

The civilisation of B., if not retrograde-which the ruins of Pagan would almost seem to indicate -is stationary and stereotyped, like that of China. All the wealth of the country is lavished on religious edifices, £10,000 sterling being sometimes expended

on the gilding and beautifying of a single pagoda or temple, whilst roads, bridges, and works of public utility are neglected.

The vernacular tongue of B. belongs to the monosyllabic class of languages, and is without inflection; the character is formed of circles and segments of circles. It is engraved on prepared strips of palmleaf, and a number of these form a book. Printing

BURMAH-BURNET.

is unknown except where introduced by the missionaries. Pali is the language of the religious literature.

Commerce.-Exports and imports, by way of Pegu, pay a duty of 10 per cent. at the British frontier custom-house, established at Thayet-myo. The principal exports (from B. Proper) consist of Sesamum oil, teak-timber, petroleum, sweet-oil, tobacco, lackered boxes, gold-leaf, silver, lead, copper, sticklac, indigo, cocoa-nuts, &c.; ponies, wheat, pulse, and cotton, pass Thayet-myo duty free. The imports (into the Burman empire) are ngapee (a paste of rank pickled fish, which is eaten with rice, the staple food of the Burman), paddy, rice, dried fish, salt-all these being imported by thousands of tons annually. Cotton piece-goods, silk do., and woollens, pass free. The value of this trade up and down the river in one year, from June 1, 1855, was £338,880. B. carries on likewise an overland traffic with China, the cotton of Ava being exchanged for the silk of the Celestial Empire.

The standard currency of B., called yowet-ni (red leaf), is silver, but there is no coinage. This metal is used, however, of varying degrees of purity, which | complicates mercantile transactions, and assayers are employed to find the value of the metal.

to

The

History.—Of the early and mythical history of B., nothing need here be said. The kingdoms of Ava and Pegu long contended for mastery. The latter was in its zenith in about 1580 a. d. Passing on to 1752, it appears that the Peguans, after a period of subjection, obtained the advantage. At this time, however, Alompra, or Aloung Pra, the most celebrated warrior-king in Burman history, rose power, founded the present dynasty, subdued the Peguins, and incorporated their country, as well as many neighbouring states, with his own. Burman empire attained its greatest expansion in 1822. The wars of 1822-1824 and 1852 with the British, have reduced the kingdom to its present contracted limits. See Narrative of the Mission from the Governor-general of India to the Court of Ava, 1855, by Captain Yule (Lond. 1858); Mason's Natural Productions of B.; Winter's Six Months in B. (Lond. 1858); Malcom's Travels in the Burman Empire; Missions of Symes, Cox, Canning, Crawfurd, and Burney to the Court of Ava, and personal observation.

BURMAH, BRITISH. The provinces composing this portion of the Anglo-Indian empire have all been wrested from the kings of Ava, and are as follow:

Area in Square
Miles.

Tenasserim Provinces (q. v.), 30,000
Martaban (q. v.), •

Approximate Statement
of Population.
210,187
76,000

8,800

Pegu (q. v.),

32.300

540,180

Arracan, or Aracan (q. v.),

Of these, the Tenasserim provinces of Maulmain
(or Amherst), Tavoy, and Mergui, together with
Aracan, were ceded to the British Government
by the treaty of Yandaboo, signed on the 24th of
February 1826, at the close of the first war with
Burmah. Pegu and the province of Martaban were
retained as compensation after the war of 1852.
1869 B. B. extended over 90,070 square miles, with a
population of 2,196,180.

In

BURMANN, PETER, the most important member of a Dutch family celebrated for learning, was born at Utrecht 1668, studied law at the university of that city and of Leyden, and, after taking his degree in 1688, travelled through Germany and Switzerland. After practising as an advocate for some years, he was appointed professor of history and rhetoric in the university of Utrecht; which

office he subsequently exchanged for the profes sorship of Greek. In 1715, after the death of Perizonius, he removed to the university of Leyden, where he died 31st March 1741.

His literary career was very active, and his hot temper and intolerant spirit involved him in many controversies. Among his most distinguished adversaries were Le Clerc and Bentley. His chief works are editions of the Latin classics-Petronius, Velleius Paterculus, Quintilian, Valerius Flaccus, Phædrus, Ovid, the Poëtæ Minores, Suetonius, Lucan. The first of these appeared in 1709, and the last in 1740. They are characterized less by taste and critical acumen than by learning, fulness of matter, and beauty of type.

BURN, RICHARD, was born in 1720 at the village of Winton, in Westmoreland. After being educated at Queen's College, Oxford, he received the living of Orton, in his native county, which he continued to hold until his death in 1785. He is widely known as the compiler of two very useful law-books, the Justice of the Peace and Ecclesiastical Law, which have each passed through many editions. He also published a History of the Poor-laws, an edition of Blackstone's Commentaries, and several sermons and works of a religious nature.

BURNES, SIR ALEXANDEr, a distinguished traveller in Central Asia, was born at Montrose, in Scotland, in 1805, where his father, who was a cousin of Robert Burns the poet, was an active and his knowledge of Oriental languages gained magistrate. He early entered the Indian army, him rapid promotion. After performing some important missions for the Indian government, he was, at his own suggestion, sent on an expedition into Central Asia. Starting from Lahore on the 11th February 1882, B., having adopted the dress and usage of the Afghans for greater safety, passed through Peshawur and Cabul, and crossing the Indian Caucasus, reached Balkh on the 9th June. Thence he passed on to Bokhara, Astrabad, and Teheran, and journeying through Ispahan and Shiraz, reached Bushire on the Persian Gulf, from whence he embarked for India. He received the special thanks of the governor-general for his travels; and on his return to England in 1833, he received a warm welcome from the India House and Board of Control, and was highly honoured by the Royal Geographical and other societies. In September 1839, having previously, for his important services, been knighted and promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he was appointed political resident at Cabul, where he was murdered on the breaking out of the insurrection in that city in November 1841. B. was the author of several papers in the Journal of the Geographical Society, also of Travels into Bokhara, and of Cabul, being a narrative of a journey to and residence in that city, which was published after his death.

BURNET, the English name of two genera of plants, Sanguisorba and Poterium, belonging to the natural order Sanguisorbeæ (q. v.)-very generally regarded as a sub-order of Rosaceae-which have much resemblance to one another, and receive a common name also in other languages. Sanguisorba has hermaphrodite flowers with four stamens; in Poterium, the flowers are polygamous, and the stamens indefinite in number. stamens indefinite in number. In both, the calyx is 4-fid, and the corolla wanting.-GREAT B. (Sanguisorba officinalis) is common in meadows in all parts of Europe, and not unfrequent in some parts of England, particularly where the soil is calcareous. It has a 'stem 1-2 feet high, pinnate leaves, with about four pair of ovate serrated leaflets and an odd one; the flowers are crowded in dark red spikes.

BURNET.

It is cultivated in Germany for feeding cattle, and is, of the ingredients of the famous cool tankard, and much esteemed for this use, as it grows well even