htest impression upon our lines, and
had lost vast numbers of men--had at last turned to the leader who
had conquered province after province for it, and had sent him
orders to march, with his whole army, to bring the struggle to a
close. The soldiers rejoiced at the thought that they were at last
to meet a real Burmese army. Hitherto they had generally stood on
the defensive, and had to fight the climate rather than the foe;
and it seemed to them that the campaign was likely to be
interminable.

The march of the Burmese from Ramoo to Sembeughewn, the nearest
point of the river to the former town, must have been a terrible
one. The distance was over two hundred miles, the rains were
ceaseless, and the country covered with jungles and marshes, and
intersected by rivers. No other army could have accomplished such a
feat. The Burmans, however, accustomed to the unhealthy climate,
lightly clad, and carrying no weight save their arms and sixteen
days' supply of rice, passed rapidly over it.

Every man was accustomed to the use of an axe and to the formation
of rafts and, in an incredibly short time, rivers were crossed,
deep swamps traversed on roads made by closely-packed faggots and,
but a few days after hearing that Bandoola had started, the general
learned, from peasants, that the news had come down that he and a
portion of his army had arrived at Sembeughewn.

Almost at the same time, other parties who travelled down along the
coast reached Donabew, a town on the Irrawaddy, some forty miles in
direct line from Rangoon. This had been named as the rendezvous of
the new army, and to this a considerable proportion of Bandoola's
force made their way direct from Ramoo; it being the custom of the
Burmese to move, when on a march through a country where no
opposition was to be looked for, in separate detachments, each
under its own leader, choosing its own way, and making for a
general rendezvous. Travelling in this manner, they performed the
journey far more rapidly than they could have done moving in one
body, and could better find shelter and food.

Other forces from Prome, Tannoo, and other quarters were known to
be marching towards Donabew. It was soon reported that the dejected
forces around Rangoon had gained courage and confidence, at the
news that Bandoola and his army were coming to their aid, and that
the deserters were returning in large numbers from their villages.
The British sick were sent away in the shipp