The royal palace consists of a square enclosure in the centre of the large square city. It was at that time surrounded and defended by a strong stockade of teak logs set on end in the ground, and inside of that, as a second line of defence, was a strong brick wall; but both stockade and wall have since been removed by the British as unnecessary. Passing inside these two defences, the visitor found himself in the spacious grounds of the palace, part of which were prettily laid out as gardens, with artificial canals of water, rockeries and summer houses. Part of this space was devoted to the king’s arsenal; on the eastern side were the treasury and the mint. In the centre of all, raised on an earthen platform about eight feet high, and pretty well covering an area of perhaps a couple of acres with a miscellaneous and irregular collection of handsome lofty buildings, with much carving in teak, and abundance of the inevitable gold leaf, is the royal palace of the kings of Burma. Some of the buildings are of brick, but the majority are of teak. There is something decidedly impressive, unique and highly interesting about the palace, as a specimen of an Oriental monarch’s residence, but from a European standpoint it is wanting in unity of design and symmetry of arrangement. The buildings are so huddled together that they lose much of their appearance, and you have to find your way about among these fine buildings by queer narrow little lanes and wooden platforms, and by many sudden and unexpected turns, that to a Western mind take off considerably from the majesty of the place. But then we must remember the character of the Burmese court, notorious for back-stairs influence, corruption, intrigue, conspiracy and the like. That being so, it is only natural that the palace buildings should allow proper facilities for the same, and be in keeping with it. [Illustration: ONE OF THE GATEWAYS OF THE ROYAL CITY OF MANDALAY] The only approach to anything like the dignity of a palace from our point of view is the front or eastern side, where there is the throne room or audience hall, surmounted with the great spire which rises roof over roof to a considerable height and almost to a point, terminating with the usual gilt umbrella. This was considered to be the centre of the universe by the Burman courtiers, and it is still facetiously called by that name by the English. It was here that the king used to appear on his throne on special occasions. It is said that King Mindohn, the father of King Theebaw, used to gaze at his people from his throne through a pair of binoculars. The people would all be down on their knees in his presence, and not only on their knees, but crouching on their elbows too, for that is the attitude for special reverence in Burma.