The Mission to Siam, and Hué, the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2

by George Finlayson

CHAPTER IV.

White Elephants and White Monkies.—Taste of the Siamese.—Brahmans and Hinduism in Siam.—Library of the Temple.—Enormous Guns.—Trade of Siam a Royal Monopoly.—Chinese Emigrants.—Sugar.—Siamese Policy respecting Trade.—Policy of the Ultra Gangetic Nations.—An Embassy arrives from Cochin China.—Procession of Royal Barges of Siam to receive it.—Siamese Music.—Reflections on the Result of the Mission.

The Moormen, and the two men who had conducted us to the audience-hall, now conducted us through the different courts of the palace. We were still followed by a dirty, mean-looking rabble, whose impudent behaviour was from time to time checked by the two police men, our guides. The streets were remarkably dirty, so that for the greater part of the way we had to walk up to the ancle in mud and water. However, no offer was made to procure us our shoes until we had gone through the whole ceremony of seeing the strange sights of this palace, a tedious and not very gratifying ceremony, which occupied us nearly two hours. The sun had, after the shower, shone out with intense power; the stones over which we passed had in consequence been rendered very hot, and the alternate passing from these stones into the wet and puddles rendered the promenade not altogether agreeable to persons unaccustomed to walk bare-footed.

We were first conducted to the stables of the white elephants, which, being held in great veneration by the Siamese, are kept within the inner enclosure of the palace, and have habitations allotted to them quite close to those of the King himself.

Of white elephants there are at the present time no fewer than five in the possession of the King, whence we may infer that this variety is far less rare than we are accustomed to believe, at least, that is so in the further peninsula of India. It has, however, seldom happened that so many have been collected at one period, and the present is regarded as auspicious in consequence of an event so unexpected, and so much desired. A white elephant is still reckoned as beyond all value, every effort is made to take them when they are by chance discovered, and the subjects of the King can perform no more gratifying service than that of securing them. They, and indeed all elephants, are the property of the King only.

The appellation white, as applied to the elephants, must be received with some degree of limitation; the animal is in fact an occasional variety, of less frequent occurrence indeed, but in every respect analogous to what occurs in other orders of animals, and, amongst the rest, in the human species. They are, correctly speaking, Albinos, and are possessed of all the peculiarities of that abnormal production; but of these white elephants, it was remarkable that the organ of sight was to all appearance natural and sound, in no way intolerant of light, readily accommodating itself to the different degrees of light and shade, and capable of being steadily directed to objects at the will of the animal; in short, similar in all respects to that of the common elephant, with the exception of the iris, which was of a pure white colour. In this respect, they resembled all the quadrupedal albinos that I had hitherto seen, as those among horses, cows, rabbits. This circumstance I should scarce have thought worth the noticing, were it not that I shall have occasion to mention in the sequel an instance of an animal of the albino kind, possessed of the peculiar eye of the human albino. In one or two of the elephants, the colour was strictly white, and in all of them the iris was of that colour, as well as the margins of the eye-lids; in the rest, the colour had a cast of pink in it. The hairs upon the body were for the most part yellowish, but much more scanty, finer, and shorter than in other elephants; the strong hairs of the tail were darker, but still of a yellowish colour. In none did the colour and texture of the skin appear entirely healthy. In some, the cuticular texture of the legs was interspersed with glandular knobs, which gave a deformed appearance to these members. In others the skin of the body was uncommonly dry, while the natural wrinkles were unusually large, secreted an acrid-like fluid, and seemed ready to burst out into disease. These beasts were all of small size, but in excellent condition, and one of them was even handsome. They were treated with the greatest attention, each having several keepers attached to him. Fresh-cut grass was placed in abundance by their side; they stood on a small boarded platform, kept clean; a white cloth was spread before them, and while we were present they were fed with sliced sugar-cane, and bunches of plantains.

In the same place we observed rather a fine-looking elephant, but a small one, which appeared to me to be a greater object of curiosity than any of the others. This animal was covered all over with black spots, about the size of a pea, upon a white base. It is not unusual to observe a partial degree of this spotted appearance in the elephant of Bengal, as on the forehead and trunk of the animal, but in this instance the skin was entirely covered with them.

The greatest regard is entertained in Siam for the White Elephant. He who discovers one is regarded as the most fortunate of mortals. The event is of that importance, that it may be said to constitute an era in the annals of the nation. The fortunate discoverer is rewarded with a crown of silver, and with a grant of land equal in extent to the space of country at which the elephants’ cry may be heard. He and his family, to the third generation, are exempted from all sorts of servitude, and their land from taxation.

The next and only other animals that we saw here, are certainly of very rare occurrence, and objects of great curiosity. These were two White Monkies, perfect albinos in every respect. They are about the size of a small dog, furnished with a tail about as long as the body. They are thickly covered with fur, which is as white as snow, or that of the whitest rabbit. The lips, eye-lids, and feet are distinguished by the inanimate whiteness of the skin noticed in the human albino, while the general appearance of the iris, the eye, and even the countenance, the intolerance of light, the unsettled air they assumed, and the grimace they affected, afforded so many points of resemblance between them and that unhappy variety of our species, as rendered the sight disgusting and humiliating. One who had seen a perfect albino of the human species, would find it impossible to separate the impression of his appearance from that of the animals now before us. These had but little of the vivacity or mischievous disposition for which this tribe is so remarkable. All their movements, all their attitudes, had for their apparent object the lessening the effect of light and glare, towards which they always turned their backs. Their eye-brows seemed pursed up and contracted, the pupils were of a light rose-colour, the irides of a very pale cast of blue. One was very old, and had but few teeth in his head. His lips were beside remarkably thick, and apparently diseased. The other was much younger.

It did not appear that they were held in any degree of veneration by the Siamese; we learned that they were placed here from superstitious motives, with the object, as they said, of preventing evil spirits from killing the white elephants.

We next proceeded to visit a temple situated at a short distance beyond the hall of audience. The court is spacious and neat, containing, besides the temple, a handsome small building, in which their sacred books are deposited. At each of the principal gates are placed gigantic earthen images, of grotesque form, with clubs in their hands, and at each angle of the temple brass figures of a fanciful animal, somewhat resembling a lion. Besides, there were other figures made of clay, paltry in appearance and absurd in design. The temple is of a pyramidal form, highly wrought with minute figures, somewhat in the Chinese style. The character of the ornaments, like that of the paintings on the stern of a Chinese junk, is operose, unmeaning, and grotesque; yet the general effect was in the present instance not unpleasing to the spectator, who regarding it at some distance, overlooked the minuteness alluded to. I remarked that the Siamese have adopted the pyramid, generally a quadrangular one, instead of the dome, the only form in which the Bauddhists of Ceylon build the sepulchral edifice called Dagoba, the architectural characteristic of their religion. The cause of this difference, in a matter so closely interwoven with their religion, is probably to be looked for in the different genius of the nations, to which cause also we must attribute the difference observable in their respective images of Buddha himself, for to the individuals of neither people are we to look for the original exemplar of that form. The Siamese, like other tribes of the Moghul race, seem to have formed to themselves a standard of beauty, differing both from that of Europeans and of Indians. Hence the sharp, the harsh, the fanciful, the improbable, are more considered by them than the soft, the majestic, and the just in architecture. The different forms given to the Dagoba, and to their temples and palaces, would illustrate this remark. A similar taste is displayed in the decorations of their private houses, in which you look in vain for truth or nature in the representation of animal beings. A wild unchastened fancy prevails among them; hence the origin of monsters and of the grotesque figures which cover the walls of the houses of their chiefs. Yet, though monstrous, unnatural, and unmeaning, they are not altogether destitute of a certain degree of spirit and of boldness in the execution. What degree and kind of genius they may possess in music and in the arts remains to be seen. In the actual state of our knowledge, I cannot but consider the Siamese as prodigiously inferior to the rude inhabitants of the interior of Ceylon, with whom, as professing the same religion, they will admit of a comparison. In the elegant and imposing structure of the Dagoba, in the numerous figures of Buddha, whether made of earth, stone, ivory, brass, wood, silver, or gold, the latter are manifestly superior artists and architects. The Siamese would appear to excel in the number of their images, the Kandians in their quality. The Siamese temple, rich in the frippery and tinsel of a Chinaman’s toy-shop, with its three hundred images, reminds you more of children’s playthings than of the place of devotion; while the Kandian, by the skilful distribution of light and shade, and proper position of one, or, at most, of a few well-executed images, produces an effect at once solemn, majestic, and impressive.

But if this obliquity of genius, if I may so call it, be so remarkable in the matters already alluded to, it is still more so in all that is calculated to give an insight into the constitution of their mind. The people are governed by opinion, absurd and unjust, not by reason, by sense, nor by kindness. The most degrading and brutal tyranny is mistaken for well-meaning patriarchal kindness; and the oppression of the multitude, and the grinding of the many, is regarded as the will of the Deity. No man either wishes for, or aspires to, freedom of thought or of action; and tyranny has cast its roots so deep, that change would seem hopeless.

But to return to the temple. I have observed that it was of a pyramidal form, the point terminating in a slender spire, about 200 feet high. Within, the building constituted a single lofty chamber, about 50 feet long, and nearly as much in breadth, paved with stones. In the centre were placed, on irregular stages, a countless number of small figures of Buddha, intermixed with bits of looking-glass, scraps of gilded paper, and Chinese paintings. Surmounting the rest was a figure of Buddha, about a foot and a half high, in a sitting posture, made, as our guides would have us to believe, of emerald. The stone was either the Chinese figure-stone, or Heliotrope, but it was placed at too great a distance for us to be able to say exactly which. There was here nothing in the shape of an altar, nor any convenience save the floor on which to place fruit and flowers, the usual offerings made to Buddha. A number of vagrant, idle people, had followed us. They entered the temple, and behaved with a degree of noisy indecorum, which could not fail to surprise us.

Surrounding the temple, and forming its enclosure, there is a paved passage, covered in above, and supported by pillars. The walls of this passage are covered with rude paintings of allegorical subjects, chiefly taken from the story of the Ramayana, a celebrated epic poem of the Hindus. It would appear, indeed, that many of the absurdities of the Hindu religion are intermingled with that of Buddha. There are in Bankok a few Brahmans, who are entertained by the king, and have built a small temple. The Siamese cultivate a lock of hair on the forehead, which lock they preserve from birth to the age of twelve, fourteen, or sixteen, untouched. At the expiration of this period, they institute a great feast; presents are made by all the relations and friends of the family, and the occasion is rendered one of great joy. The Brahman then, sprinkling a little water on the head, and repeating certain prayers, cuts the lock. When the children of the king undergo this ceremony, an artificial hill is constructed, on which the Brahman performs the ceremony.

Close to the temple stands the pyramidal building, in which the sacred books are kept. You ascend to it by a flight of steps, covered with plates of tin, as is also the floor of the room. The books cannot be very numerous. They are contained in a pyramidal upright cupboard, richly ornamented with small pieces of mother-of-pearl.

Returning by the road we had entered, we repassed the inner and second gates of the palace, when we found ourselves in the enclosure where we had halted for some time before entering the audience-hall. The only objects worthy of remark in this place were several ridiculously and uselessly large brass guns. They must, from their size, be equally unserviceable and unmanageable. They seemed, however, to pride themselves not a little in possessing guns of such a calibre. They appeared to have been uncommonly well cast.

Having now been shewn all that was thought worthy of notice, we were reconducted to the room in which we had first halted. It was again soon filled with the rabble. A plentiful dessert of sweet-meats was introduced, and the Moorman was particularly desirous that we should partake of it. But it was impossible to overlook the mean condition of those left to entertain us, the disreputable appearance of the building, or the jeering and disrespectful conduct of the herd of spectators that crowded round us. It seemed as if the court had said, See them feed.

As we were leaving the palace, several of the chiefs were returning home at the same time, and afforded us an opportunity of observing that they used vehicles more respectable and more comfortable than those they had assigned for the use of the Agent to the Governor General. We now procured our slung hammocks, and were carried back to our boats. About one, P. M., we reached the ship.

A large quantity of sweet-meats, those which had been placed before us on our visit to the palace, was sent home after us; and, in the course of the afternoon, the chief, Suri-wong, paid the Agent to the Governor General a visit, and said that he had been desired to entertain us with a dinner. A profusion of roasted pork, goats’ flesh, ducks, fowls, &c., was then brought by his servants and laid on the table, together with a couple of decanters of a wine nearly as strong and fiery as brandy. He remained a spectator of the entertainment, but would not eat or drink with us. He conversed with more ease with us than he had hitherto done. He said we had been highly honoured, and seemed to be quite pleased with the transactions of the day. He asked many questions, and wished to be thought easy and free, but his manner was coarse and impolite to a degree quite unusual in an Asiatic. * * * * *

On reviewing the transactions of this day, and connecting them with the general conduct of the officers of the Siamese government towards the mission, from the period of our arrival in the country, it will appear that we had but little reason to be elated with success, or proud of our reception at court.

In their visits, the most petty officers arrogated a superiority which certainly did not belong to their inferior station, for some of them turned out to be low retainers of the chiefs, to whom they performed the offices of menials, and crouched on the ground before them, as we afterwards found on visiting those chiefs. The demand that the guns should be landed before we proceeded up the river, though a punctilio they readily conceded, but little stress having to all appearance been laid upon it from the commencement, shewed that nothing was beneath their notice, and we may infer from their sending a single narrow boat, capable of holding at most but three persons, on a short journey, for the accommodation of the Agent to the Governor General, that they wished to hold the mission very cheap.

After we had arrived nearly opposite to the palace, no notice whatever was taken of the ship, any more than if she had not been there, and the first communication had for its object to obtain possession of the presents sent by the Governor General. It was impossible to attribute to ignorance their affected indifference, and studied inattention to whatever related to the accommodation, the wants, or the comforts of the gentlemen of the mission. Hospitality is a virtue not altogether unknown to any nation or people; with politeness, it is much the same. Their leading features are acknowledged by all people. Nations differ only in the mode of their expression. On these points there seems no reason to believe that the Siamese are much behind their neighbours. To individuals they had often behaved with attention and kindness, and particularly so to the captains of ships and European traders. The inference therefore is, that, in the present instance, they listened to political motives only, and though the matter was of that trifling importance as scarce to deserve mention, yet, taken in conjunction with their conduct in other matters, it throws some light upon the view in which they held the present mission. Every person of rank carefully abstained from coming near us, Kochai Sahac, being the channel of reference to the chief Suri-Wong Montree, who is not among the persons of the highest rank, but only acting[6]Barkalan, the chief, whose office this is, being either too old, or otherwise incapable of attending to his duties. Our introduction to the king, and the particular place assigned to the mission, at the audience, and other circumstances before alluded to, require no comment. The court in granting a public audience had displayed its power, and perhaps its riches, motives of themselves sufficient to induce a government supported chiefly by appearances, to grant such audience. It is known that the king receives envoys from other potentates in a very different manner, with ceremony, with pomp, wearing his crown at the audience. It was evident therefore that they affected to treat the mission from the Governor General of Bengal as of inferior consequence, and that they meant to consider it in the light of a deputation from the governor of a province, such deputations being common amongst the neighbouring powers. This matter was placed beyond a doubt some days afterwards, the moorman Kochai stating that the mission had been received by the king as a deputation from a provincial government.

Seeing that no notice whatever was taken, nor even mention made, of the letter from the Governor General at our public presentation, we could no longer entertain doubts as to the idea which they wished to impress upon the public mind respecting the importance of the government of Bengal. We, however, had abundant reason to believe that well-informed persons about the government were not ignorant of the vast power, the extensive dominion, the unparalleled equity of that government.

The presents from the Governor General were laid out before us in the hall, and a crier read in a loud voice a list of them, a circumstance also open to suspicion, particularly as the interpreters to the mission were not permitted to be present, or even to pass the inner gate of the palace. Under such circumstances it appeared that they might represent our word presents in whatever light was most flattering to their pride, their vanity, or their crooked policy.

With respect to the actual objects of the mission, the proposals were so moderate, so obviously of mutual advantage, that, from all we could yet learn, the government would be as anxious to confer them as ours to receive them.

The encouragement given to the Chinese traders and labourers, and the limited adventures of the king and some of the principal men about him, had given them a foretaste of the advantages of commerce, which they were now very anxious to improve. They were becoming sensible of the errors created by their cupidity, in imposing innumerable and vexatious duties. Blind to their real interests, as well as ignorant of the practice of commerce, the king and his ministers still continue to be the sole merchants, retaining in their own hands the monopoly of all articles of consequence, and holding it contraband for any others to intermeddle. They have yet to learn that it is possible to fill the treasury with less risk, less trouble, and more credit, from the industry and fair profits of their subjects; and hence King Chau-chee-veet, “the Lord of Life,” continues to be the first trader in his kingdom.

It is to the Chinese nation that they are indebted for whatever knowledge they possess of the advantages of commercial intercourse. In defiance of the laws of the celestial empire, there would appear to be scarcely any limit to the extent of emigration from that great empire. Her subjects are the best and most industrious part of the population of the surrounding nations, over whom their industry, their superior intelligence, and knowledge of the arts, have given them a great and decided superiority. Siam, a country sunk under the most debasing tyranny, destitute alike of arts and commerce, offered a fair field for the developement of their superiority. Fear had long opposed obstacles to the increase of the Chinese, till at length the government either from conscious incapacity of restraining them longer, or from motives of a different nature, has at length given them the most unbounded encouragement, and granted them privileges which render their condition infinitely preferable to that of the natives of the country. On the other hand the benefits which the Chinese emigrants have conferred upon this rude nation, are of obvious and striking utility, and of no ordinary importance. They have sown the seeds of commercial enterprise. They have created commerce where none previously existed, and with their hands they have, as it were, called into existence some of the more valuable objects of commerce. Scarce twenty years have elapsed since the first sugar canes were planted in this kingdom. The annual produce in sugar, at the present time, is stated to amount to 30,000 peculs, of 133½ lbs. each, or 1788 tons. This constitutes, in fact, the most valuable commercial article of the realm. The culture is managed solely by the Chinese, and it is the opinion of the chief Suri-Wong, that it may be carried to an almost unlimited extent. Such being the nature of the advantages derived from the unremitting industry of the Chinese, it is not to be wondered at, if that people should enjoy privileges denied to European and other nations. Chinese traders are accordingly subjected to less vexatious proceedings in their commercial transactions, and are even allowed to purchase the principal commodities at a lower rate of duty than other nations, the difference in the article of sugar amounting to fifty per cent. less than the general rate.

Not satisfied, however, with the trade carried on by the Chinese junks, the king has shewn a strong desire to increase its extent, although the means which he has adopted are not well calculated to effect that object. His proper subjects are altogether ignorant of maritime science, and seem to possess but few of the qualities necessary to ensure success in such employments; he is therefore under the necessity of employing foreigners, as native Christians, Arabs, and other Mahommedans, to navigate his vessels. He, nevertheless, sends annually to various ports in China from ten to twelve junks, of moderate size, laden with sugar, pepper, sapan, and iron wood.

It is, however, with the commercial nations of Europe that he is most desirous to establish the relations of trade. The great size of their vessels, their valuable and select cargoes, and more particularly their ready command of capital, and integrity of conduct, place them at once beyond competition and rivalship. A conscious sense of his own weakness, however, operates strongly as a check upon his intercourse with Europeans. To these fears a debasing cupidity is superadded, and the result is exhibited in a code of irksome and illiberal regulations, calculated at once to disgust and to disappoint the liberal-minded trader. In the actual condition of the existing government, there is but little room to hope for amelioration of policy, or improvement of circumstances. Still less, I conceive, are we to expect that they will lay aside their old prejudices, and adopt in their stead those regulations which, amongst Europeans, are the foundation of what is called free trade. They may, indeed, be induced to lower the duties on certain articles, but it is to be feared that neither the king nor his ministers will abandon their favourite system of monopoly.

That the Siamese government is not disposed, at the present time, to adopt the European notions of free trade, we have a proof in its conduct with regard to the trading brig, Phœnix, belonging to Mr. Storm. Trusting probably to the favourable disposition produced by the mission, this vessel was freighted with articles from Calcutta, which were conceived to be adapted to the Siamese market. She had no sooner arrived at the mouth of the river, than it was communicated by the Siamese government to the Agent to the Governor General that this vessel should afford an instance of the disposition of the government, and that she should enjoy all the privileges and advantages which the royal Majesty of Siam meant to confer upon British merchants. The ordinary policy was immediately resorted to. The king and his ministers insist on the privilege of purchasing before any permission can be granted to trade. They send to demand musters of the articles imported, and affix their own price for such as they wish to purchase. Three weeks have thus passed before any final answer is returned, or the musters sent back, during the whole of which time no boat, no trader, no individual of any description, is permitted to visit the ship, or to hold intercourse with the owners on board. It may be readily conceived that no subject will dare to offer a higher price than that which has been tendered by the king and his ministers. The waste of time must of itself be no little inconvenience to the merchant. It would seem as if it were the object of the Siamese government to disgust the trader, in this manner, by unnecessary delay, hoping thereby to reduce him to the necessity of selling his goods on their own, or, at least, on more moderate terms. In the meanwhile the most evasive answers are returned to every proposition. The slightest and most indifferent matters are rendered a source of annoyance, nor is any proposition or representation on the part of the trader met openly and candidly, but shuffled off in a mean and paltry manner.

From the conduct of the government towards this ship, it soon became apparent how little they were disposed to grant to British merchants. The Agent to the Governor General had been assured that the duties should be lowered two per cent. below the present rate. It was now unequivocally stated that no such reduction should take place until the English sent five ships annually: it was afterwards stated that this reduction would be enforced after the period of two years or so.

The most urgent and frequently repeated solicitations could not induce them to give any answer on the subject of trade for the course of an entire month, nor could the musters which they had demanded from Mr. Storm be got back again. It afterwards appeared that one object of this delay was to give time to the junks to arrive from Singapore with their cargoes, by which means during this delay the prices of articles were reduced twenty per cent.

While the ship lay here, it was vain to expect to be able to dispose of any thing until the government had returned an answer. At length a communication was made to the effect that the government would purchase, but on terms to which Mr. Storm could not accede. The latter now expected that he should be able to dispose of his goods to the inhabitants of the place, but none of them ever came near him, nor could they dare to offer a higher price than that tendered by the Pra-Klang.

It will no doubt appear strange that a people, so anxious for the commerce of European nations, as to hold out privileges in proportion to the extent of that trade, should notwithstanding raise so many obstacles against the obvious tendency of their apparent measures. Various and very opposite feelings would appear to have given birth to this manifest inconsistency of conduct—of which national pride, and undisguised cupidity, vindicate a large share. There can be little doubt but that much of the annoyance given to the European trader is viewed by them as a matter of exultation—and it must be confessed that the eagerness with which the former have sought for their commerce, leading them to submit to insult and degradation, has cherished this sentiment on the part both of the government and of the people. It is the nature of the Ultra-Gangetic nations to rise in their demands in proportion as they can enforce, or in any way procure submission to their will. They are universally more influenced by firmness, boldness, and decision, than by the most sound and conclusive arguments, the most mild, inoffensive, and conciliating conduct. They are either insensible to, or regardless of, the latter sort of argument. He that would have them listen to arguments of reason and common sense, must be backed by the hand of power, and hold the rod in reserve. From such people nothing but insult is to be expected by submission; and as these nations have an unquestionable and natural right to dictate the terms on which they will hold intercourse with Europeans, it becomes a question of some interest, how far the conduct usually pursued by the latter has had a good or bad effect in promoting the interests of their respective countries.

Unfortunately for the credit of the commercial nations of Europe, their subjects have conducted themselves in this trade with views solely of personal interest, totally disregarding the honour and character of the nation to which they have belonged. In order to gain paltry advantages, they often submitted to accumulated injuries, and to the most degrading insults. It has thence happened that the character of Europeans, even at the present time, stands but very low with the nations occupying the Eastern ports of Asia. The Chinese, the most intelligent of these nations, affect to consider the British as a nation of ingenious tradesmen, little better, in fact, than watch-makers, who owe their prosperity to their intercourse with their country. The Siamese, conscious of the power of our Indian government, affect a less haughty tone, yet fancy themselves infinitely superior to us, inasmuch as we are so eager to purchase their commerce. In common with most nations, they entertain a high opinion of the bravery of their countrymen,—of the strength of their armies, and of the superior wealth of their country.

The petty disputes in which they are often engaged with the captains of ships and other traders, who subject themselves to systematic annoyance, have tended to confirm them in this good opinion. They are either too ignorant, or too infatuated, to perceive, that the latter, being in a great measure placed at their mercy, unsupported by the authority of their own government, and destitute of every means of redress, afford them a conquest as easy as it is inglorious and dishonest. Every petty and unworthy advantage thus gained, is magnified into a triumph, not merely over the individual, but over the government of which he is the subject; for as they are ignorant of the manners and customs and superior civilization of other nations, so they cannot conceive that such great ships, and such valuable commodities, can belong to any one but the king, or to some one of his principal officers.

Another circumstance which has contributed to render the present government more haughty and assuming in its transactions with strangers, is the tranquillity which for a considerable number of years has prevailed in this country; tranquillity for which they are more indebted to the ignorance of their neighbours, than to the wisdom of their own measures. They have not yet measured their strength with a power more civilized than themselves.

It may be doubted also whether, notwithstanding their apparent wish to increase commerce, the innumerable obstacles which Europeans in particular have to contend with be not intentional, as tending to increase the safety of their kingdom by discouraging the access of strangers. The conduct of the government would seem to justify such an opinion, though from motives of policy, it may be deemed prudent to cloak such sentiments under feigned representations.

That a great, generous, and warlike nation, such as Great Britain, should incur the possibility of having her national honour slighted, if not tarnished, by any nation under the sun, far less by a semi-barbarous people, experience has rendered less a matter of surprise than of regret. It cannot be altogether a matter of indifference what opinion shall be entertained of her by so large a portion of the human race, as that occupying the countries between the Ganges and the Yellow Sea. Neither is national honour a mere sound or but an empty name—for in this sound rests the strength of kingdoms, the safety of nations. It is this that fans the flame in the patriot’s breast—it is this that nerves the soldier’s arm—it is this motive which more than any other converts the man into the hero.

Britain may well command the esteem, if not the homage, of such nations. An open, manly, and disinterested conduct, on the part of her subjects, is alone sufficient to establish such an opinion; but while the success of commercial enterprise is alone regarded, national honour will be left to shift for itself. The immense value of the commerce with China, doubtless, is an object of the most powerful temptation—but with respect to Siam, no such motives exist. Her commerce, supposing it altogether unshackled, and left to full and free operation, is after all but very trifling. It seems doubtful whether it be equal to employ annually four or five ships of moderate size; and the most valuable commodities of the country are bulky, such as sugar. The consumption of British manufactures by the natives is trifling in the extreme. Britain has more to give than to receive from such a nation.

But it more immediately concerns the honour and safety of our Indian government to maintain a dignified and imposing attitude in its intercourse with these nations. The existing government having established an everlasting fame, upon the firmest basis, has also raised its honour and its faith to an enviable height. They will doubtless continue to watch over it with the most jealous care.

That the crazy, disjointed, and puny government of Siam should affect to treat the government of Bengal as inferior, and that it should impudently dare to consider an authorized envoy from that state, as a messenger from a provincial government, may well excite our surprise and indignation.

May 6th.—About this period intelligence was brought to court that an ambassador from Cochin China had arrived at the mouth of the river. After crossing the peninsula of Cambodia, he took shipping at the port of Saigon, and, attended by a numerous train of followers, arrived at Paknam in a small fleet of praws. Notice of his arrival was immediately conveyed to Court. The Chief of Paknam was ordered to entertain the ambassador during his stay at that place, and in the mean time the requisite measures were taken for the purpose of conveying him to the capital in a manner suitable to his rank. The festivities of Paknam, though not of the most costly nature, were probably the best the country could afford. They lasted for several days, and consisted chiefly of scenic representations, musical entertainments, and gymnastic exercises.

An event of this nature was calculated to excite attention and awaken curiosity; it was altogether unexpected by us. We were naturally desirous to compare our own situation with that of the Cochin-Chinese, endeavouring thence to form a judgment of the real sentiments of the Siamese respecting the English mission.

What the real object of this embassy may have been, we had no correct means of ascertaining, but the avowed and ostensible one was said to have originated in a feeling of gratitude on the part of the reigning king of Cochin China, for the asylum and protection that had been granted to his predecessor by the King of Siam, in the midst of his misfortunes, when his country was usurped by his own rebellious subjects, and he himself an exile and a suppliant in the land of strangers. He had now sent his ambassador to assure the King of Siam of his good and peaceable intentions, and of his desire to confirm the bonds of amity with a nation which had behaved with so much disinterestedness towards his family, during the anarchy of the civil war which had driven them from the throne.

An embassy which the same king had some time ago sent to the Barman Court had excited distrust and jealousy in the Siamese, who regard the Barmans as their natural and most implacable enemies. Watchful at all times of the conduct of the Cochin-Chinese, and uncertain how the new king of that country might be affected towards them, this unexpected embassy to the Court of Amarapura awakened their fears. An embassy was immediately sent to Cochin-China, for the avowed purpose of discovering the motives of the embassy to Ava, as well as to sound the inclination of the new king towards the Siamese. The present embassy, therefore, might be considered as complimentary to the Siamese, while the distinction with which it was received evidently shewed that they were flattered by it. It would perhaps be deemed more curious than useful or flattering, to contrast the reception which this ambassador, a simple messenger from a comparatively small state, received, with that which had so lately been bestowed upon the mission from the Governor General of British India. It is sufficient to observe, that even the Prince Chroma Chit, one of the principal members of the Government, was known to express his regret publicly that the Cochin-Chinese ambassador should have arrived at such a time, as the English gentlemen could not fail to make unfavourable comparisons.

About a week after the arrival of the ambassador at Paknam, it would appear that all the necessary preparations for conveying him to the capital had been made ready. A numerous set of boats was appointed for his service. In these he embarked with his train of followers, and proceeding by easy stages up the river, treated with entertainments and every mark of distinction and civility by the way, he arrived at Bankok.

The weather was mild and agreeable, particularly calculated to display a procession of this nature to every advantage. The scene, too, was interesting beyond expectation; it was both beautiful and picturesque. The rapidity with which the boats and barges moved, the order and regularity with which innumerable rowers raised and depressed their paddles, guided by the shrill notes of a song that might well be deemed barbarous, together with the singular and barbaric forms, the brilliant colours, the gilded canopies of the boats, the strange and gaudy attire of the men, the loud and reiterated acclamations of innumerable spectators,—gave to the transient scene an effect not easily described.

It was now, for the first time, that we had an opportunity of seeing those singular and highly ornamented royal barges which had attracted the attention of M. Chaumont and suite, ambassador to Siam from the Court of Louis XIV. The description given of them by Loubere, in his Histoire de Siam, will, with very little alteration, apply to those now in use. They are in general from sixty to eighty feet, or more, in length, about four in breadth, and raised about two feet in the middle from the water, the bow and stern rising boldly to a considerable height. They are highly-ornamented with curious and not inelegant devices, all of which are neatly carved on the wood and gilt. The form is that of some monstrous or imaginary animal. In the centre there is erected a canopy, generally well gilt, and hung with silken curtains, or cloth interwoven with gold tissue. The space under the canopy is calculated to contain but one or two persons, the rest of the boat being entirely occupied by the rowers, often to the number of forty or fifty.

The procession moved in the following order:

Four long boats in front, with numerous rowers, dressed in red jackets, and wearing tall conical caps of the same colour. These boats were covered with a light awning of mats.

Six richly-ornamented boats, with gilded canopies, in the form of a dome, and richly carved. In these were the assistants and suite of the ambassador. Each boat carried two small brass swivels in front; the men were dressed as in the former. About forty rowers were in each boat.

A very handsome, richly-ornamented barge, with a gilt canopy of a conical shape, and rich curtains; in which was the ambassador, bearing the letter from the King of Cochin China.

Four or six boats similar to those in front.

In the course of a few days after his arrival at Bankok, he was admitted to an audience of the king, without going through those forms which had been pointed out as necessary to be observed by the Agent to the Governor General. The Cochin-Chinese ambassador neither visited the Prince Chroma-Chit, nor his deputy the Pra-Klang, Suri-Wong, before he had obtained an audience of the king.

His first, and public interview with the king is said to have been friendly and somewhat familiar. No business is ever transacted on such occasions. The king, seated under a rich canopy, received the ambassador in the hall of audience, according to his more usual custom.

The ambassador was carried to the palace by his own followers in a palanquin, preceded by a number of armed men. He got out of his vehicle at the inner gate, and walking up to the hall of audience, without laying aside his shoes, took his seat in the place allotted to him, taking his own interpreter along with him.

Although no business was transacted, the interview lasted for a considerable time. The hall, as on the occasion of our introduction at court, was crowded with persons of various rank.

On the 20th, the ambassador paid his first visit to the Pra-klang, on which occasion we had an opportunity of seeing him and his suite, our chambers being so situated as to afford a view of all that passed during the interview. The Siamese choose the early part of the night to pay their visits. The Pra-klang, on this occasion, had lighted his rooms in the handsomest style, and had disposed of his gayest furniture with all the taste he was master of. A new carpet and cushion were produced for his own use, while the old one was abandoned to his visitor, who was also to occupy the place the chief was wont to recline on during visits, the latter retiring to a more distant part of the room.

All the servants and retainers of the chief were summoned to attend on this important occasion, and now lay prostrate on the floor, like so many inanimate images, at one end of the room, in a double row. A number of lights were placed outside, and persons bearing torches were posted from the bank of the river to the house.

It was evident that the Pra-klang was anxious to make as great display as possible before the stranger, and though the taste exhibited throughout, and more particularly in the too profuse decorations of the room, were widely different from what we are accustomed to admire, yet it must be admitted that the effect produced was altogether surprising, and far beyond what we could have anticipated from a people unquestionably very rude in many of the arts of civilized life. It deserves to be mentioned, however, that the glass manufacturer of Europe had contributed not a little towards this display.

The ambassador seemed little inclined to abate one jot of his dignity on this occasion. After keeping the anxious chief and his bustling attendants in suspense for several hours, he at length appeared with twenty or thirty attendants, and some persons bearing presents in boxes.

The ambassador was rather an elderly man, below the middle stature, of a thin, lanky, and spare habit, with sharp eyes and sunk cheeks. He was remarkably fair for an Asiatic. He wore on his head a piece of black crape, loosely rolled into the form of a turban. He had on a loose gown, with wide sleeves, of the same material and colour as his turban, and both he and his suite were habited in black. Several chobs were carried before him, and three black umbrellas were held over him. A few menials were dressed in jackets of coarse red cloth and conical caps, surmounted by a plume of red hair.

The address of the ambassador was both dignified and easy. He stood on the threshold for an instant, surveying the room, regardless of the chief, and advanced to the carpet in the centre of the place. He here made a slight salutation by raising his right hand towards his face. His interpreter and a few others seated themselves by him. Sweetmeats were now introduced, and after the lapse of an hour or so, they parted.

On the 17th May, the noisy ceremony called Khon-chook terminated, on which occasion the English and Portuguese in the place, consisting of Mr. Crawfurd and suite, Mr. de Sylveira, the Portuguese consul, and his secretary Mr. Baptiste, Captain M’Donnell of the John Adam and two of his mates, Captain Smith and Mr. Storm of the brig Phœnix, and two Portuguese from Macao, were invited by the Pra-klang to a dinner prepared in the European fashion.

I have before remarked that it is an invariable and very ancient custom amongst the Siamese to preserve a lock of hair on the forehead of their children, which is guarded intact until a certain period of their age, when it is cut with great ceremony. The ceremony is called Khon-chook, and takes place at the 11th, 13th, or 15th year of age, according to the inclination of the parents. It is a time of great festivity and shew. The relations and friends of the family make presents according to the extent of their ability; the priests are frequently assembled to say prayers; are fed and presented with new robes of yellow cloth, that being the only colour they are permitted to wear. Different bands of national music are assembled, and the festivities are kept up with unceasing attention for the space of five days. On this occasion, the eldest, and favourite son of the Pra-klang, a puny, sickly, but intelligent boy, had attained the proper age for the performance of this ceremony. The rank and situation of the father was such as to command a very bountiful supply of presents. Of these we may instance that of the Prince Chroma-chit, who is said to have given four catties of silver, equal to 240 ticals, and that of the Agent to the Governor General, who gave five. The tical is somewhat less than a third more in value than a rupee.

This ceremony would appear to be more agreeable to the tenets and practice of the Hindu than of the Bauddhic religion. The priests of the latter took no farther interest in it than to repeat certain prayers at particular periods, whilst the tonsure is, in fact, performed by a Brahman, with great ceremony, and an affectation of mystery, after he had repeated a set of unintelligible prayers. A few Brahmans are maintained in the country for the due performance of this particular ceremony. The Siamese entertain considerable respect for the professors of the Hindu faith. It is not to be expected however that Brahmans so situated, exiled from the soil which originated and cherished their faith, would long preserve its tenets in purity. The prayers of the priests of Buddha were repeated by several persons at once, in a sort of recitative style, and, as usual, in the Pali or sacred text, a language altogether unintelligible to the vulgar, and but imperfectly understood even by the greater number of priests. The multitude listen to these prayers with the most perfect indifference. They neither observe decorum nor respect on such occasions, each seeming by his conduct to imply that this was a business which touched him little, either as regards this world or the next. Even in the temple, their respect for the sanctity of the place, which the presence of their idols might be supposed to command, is but little observable. Both priests and laymen are often seen squatted on the pavement playing at chess, and other games of chance, before the shrines of the gods.

Several of the best bands of music were assembled on this occasion, and relieved each other in succession. One of these consisted of female performers only; the others of male performers, whose music was occasionally interspersed with the plaintive notes of a female voice. The difference of the several bands consisted chiefly in the greater or less power, or body of the music, if I may so express it; the softest and most pleasing being that of the female band.

The Siamese are naturally very fond of music, and even persons of rank think it no disparagement to acquire a proficiency in the art. This music is for the most part extremely lively, and more pleasing to the ear of an European, than the want of proficiency in the more useful arts of civilized life would lead him to expect of such a nation. Whence this proficiency has arisen may be somewhat difficult to explain, more especially as the character of their music partakes but little of that eccentricity of genius and apparent heaviness of mind and imagination, for which they are, in other respects, so remarkable. We have no means of ascertaining what is of domestic origin, or how much they may be indebted to foreign intercourse for the improvement of their music. On inquiry we were told that the principal instruments were of Barman, Pegu, or Chinese origin, and that much of the music had been borrowed from the two first mentioned nations, particularly from Pegu.

It is somewhat singular that these nations again consider the Siamese as superior in musical skill, and attribute to the latter the invention of the principal instruments, as may be seen in Colonel Symes’s account of those countries.

It might be supposed that the Siamese had borrowed their music from the same source that they have their religion, the softness, the playful sweetness and simplicity of the former seeming to harmonize in some degree with the humane tenets, the strict morality and apparent innocence of the latter. The prominent and leading character, however, of the music, appears to be common to the Malays, and other inhabitants of the Indian islands, as well as to the whole of the Indo Chinese nations.

My friend Captain Dangerfield, himself an adept in musical science, remarks, that the music of the Siamese differs from that of all barbarous tribes, in being played upon a different key—on that, if I understand him right, which characterizes the pathetic music of certain European nations. There is certainly no harsh or disagreeable sound, no sudden or unexpected transition, no grating sharpness in their music. Its principal character is that of being soft, lively, sweet, and cheerful, to a degree, which seemed to us quite surprising. They have arrived beyond the point of being pleased with mere sound—the musician aimed at far higher views, that of interesting the feelings, awakening thought, or exciting the passions. Accordingly they have their different kinds of music, to which they have recourse according as they wish to produce one or other of these effects.

Their pieces of music are very numerous. A performer of some notoriety, who exhibited before us, stated that he knew one hundred and fifty tunes. This man brought with him two instruments, the one a wind, the other a stringed instrument. The former, called klani, resembled a flageolet, as well in form as in the tones, which however, were fuller, softer, and louder, than those of that instrument. His manner of blowing on it resembled that of a person using the blow-pipe. He was thus enabled to keep up an uninterrupted series of notes.

The other, a more curious, as well as more agreeable instrument, is called tuk-kay, from its fancied resemblance to a lizard, though in point of form, to me it appears to approach nearer to that of a Chinese junk. It is about three feet long, has a hollow body, and three large sounding holes on the back, which is of a rounded form. It is composed of pieces of hard wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Three strings, one of brass wire, the others of silk, supported on small bits of wood, extend from one end of the instrument to the other, and are tuned by means of long pegs. The performer pressing his left hand on the cords, strikes them at proper distances, with the fore-finger of the right.

There is another instrument, called khong-nong[7], the music of which is also very pleasant. It consists of a series of small cymbals of different sizes, suspended horizontally in a bamboo frame, forming a large segment of a circle. It is sometimes so large, that the performer may sit within the circle of the instrument, his back being then turned to the vacant space.

The tones of this instrument are very pleasing. It is usually accompanied by the instrument called ran-nan; this is formed of flat bars of wood, about a foot in length, and an inch in breadth, placed by the side of each other, and disposed so as to form an arch, the convexity of which is downwards. Both this and the last-mentioned instrument are struck with a light piece of wood, or a small mallet.

The task were more tedious than useful or entertaining to enumerate all the musical instruments used by the Siamese. They have herein displayed much ingenuity, and no inconsiderable proficiency, combining various instruments so as to produce a very pleasing effect. In conclusion, we may observe, that there is a very remarkable difference between the character of their vocal and instrumental music, the former being as plaintive and melancholy, as the latter is lively and playful.

20th May, 1822.—Though but little of an agreeable or satisfactory nature has occurred respecting the commercial or political objects of the mission since our arrival, it seems proper that we should here take a brief and cursory view of these transactions. As the subject was unavoidably rendered one of public notoriety, and often became matter of conversation between Captain Dangerfield and the Agent to the Governor General, occasionally even at the table of the latter, it became no very difficult matter to gain some insight into the affair; I mean that persons who, like myself, were unconnected with political and commercial matters, could thus become in some degree acquainted with what was going forward: the more so, as the Portuguese of the place, and the captains and officers of the two English ships in the river were favourably situated for acquiring the fullest information on the subject. From these sources my information has been principally drawn.