The ceremony is conducted by some venerable impostor to whom they give the title of the father of the demon, and although the state of the invalid ought to induce a feeling of sympathy, the whole house resounds with music and song in order to assuage the wrath of the evil minded being. Gold, silver, rubies and musk are the chief articles of export, and, under the general term "rubies" topazes, sapphires, amethysts and other precious stones should be included. Europeans give in exchange beaver-hats, and the gold and silver brocaded ribbons with which the nobles adorn their heads. All trade is carried on by court officials who hold themselves responsible for payment and if they are convicted of breach of trust, the creditor is allowed by law to seize their wives, children and slaves and to expose them to the glare of the sun at his door. The Peguans, like all Indian peoples grant the existence of a creator god, whom the people have the exclusive privilege of worshipping. There are lesser deities to whom the people pray in time of need, and the Devil is one of their chief objects of adoration. At early dawn the people are to be seen carrying some rice for his delectation in order that he may be gracious to them during the day time: others throw titbits over their shoulders for him during meal times. This puerile religion is based upon ghost worship. They grant an eternal succession of worlds each of which has a special deity as its ruler. The doctrine of transmigration has many adherents who believe that souls having passed through the bodies of birds, beasts and fishes, are cast into a place of punishment which they leave to enter a paradise of pleasure where everything awakes and appeals to the senses, and finally that after several transmigrations they will be united with the Supreme Being of whose happiness they will be partakers. They have great respect for monkeys and envy the blessed fate of those who are eaten by crocodiles. On ceremonial occasions, the assembled people hire women and hermaphrodites who perform dances in honour of the gods of the Earth. The dancers bestir themselves so violently that they fall down in a swoon. It is after this fit that they prophesy the future which has been revealed to them by their gods. The Priests vowed to celibacy, set a good example of abstemiousness to the populace. They eat but once a day and sobriety is their most prominent virtue. When the soil of the district to which they are assigned is insufficient to furnish to their needs, they send out young novices in search of alms and the credulous mob encourages idleness by liberal donations. The poorest citizens are always those who waste their property in pious offerings. Their morals are simple and it is by their studied mortifications that they impose on the populace whose ideal of the Sublime is the Extraordinary and the Peculiar.