The winter, so to speak, as it is the rainy and stormy season, begins in April and finishes in October. There is no other season but summer during which abundant crops of beans, grain and fruits are produced; but neither wheat nor rye can be grown. The capital gives a good idea of this kingdom. It is several leagues in extent, its population is equal to that of the largest towns in Europe, and it contains 600 temples. The magnificence of the King's palace shows that gold is plentiful. The Hall of Gold is thus named as it is covered with the precious metal from roof to floor. A hundred ingots of gold each weighing 40 pounds are fixed to the throne, which itself is of massy gold. There are in addition seven golden images of the size of an ordinary man. They are hollow inside, but the metal is two inches thick. They are of immense value owing to the emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds which are set in the forehead, arms and girdles of these vain images. In this hall there may be seen a square stand made entirely of gold upon which is a golden cabinet inlaid with precious stones. The King owns two rubies, each as long as the little finger, and at one end of the size of a hen's egg. These rubies have been the cause of desperate conflicts between the neighbouring Kings owing to the superstition attached to these stones that the possessor will be arbiter of the fate of the others. The King wears them on the day of his coronation only. The people, contented with the products of their land, cannot understand why men risk their lives in the pursuit of wealth. They take up arms for war only, and never for trade, which is carried on solely by foreigners from all parts of the world. The Mahommedans, especially, carry on a great trade in elephants which they export to the Coromandel Coast, to Golconda and to Persia from whence they import fabrics, silks and spices. The most plentiful articles of commerce of the country are timber, lead, tin and ivory. It is worth while to make a few remarks on the manners and customs of a nation with which commercial relations could well be established. The Aracanese have broad and flat foreheads which results from a peculiarity of taste rather than from a freak of nature, as the work of nature is marred by the application of a leaden plate to the infant's forehead.