PEGU, the chief town of the above district, stands on the left bank of a river of the same name that flows into the Irrawaddy, 58 miles N.E. of Rangoon. It is built in the shape of a quadrangle, and the streets are broad and regular, crossing each other at right angles. The streets are paved with bricks, and the houses, which are built of wood, are elevated on posts above the ground. Of the buildings in the town, the most important is the temple of Shoemadoe, a brick structure, octagonal at the base, and rising in the form of a pyramid or spire. Pegu was destroyed in 1757 by the Burmese, on their final triumph over the country, but it was subsequently rebuilt. In 1824 it was captured by the British, but restored on the conclusion of the first war with Burmah. In 1852 it was again taken, and has
since that time been retained. It is said to have contained at one time 150,000 inhabitants.