The Mission to Siam, and Hué, the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2, by George Finlayson--The Project Gutenberg eBook

Calophyllum inophyllum. This generally grows close by the sea-side, its roots being washed by the tide at high water.

Cycas revoluta. Very abundant; a more handsome palm than the C. circinalis. It was now in flower. The quantity of pollen discharged by the stameniferous plant was uncommonly great, and of an oppressively powerful odour. It appeared to us, on examining their structure, not at all extraordinary that this plant should long have been taken for a fern of gigantic size. A large, yellow-coloured, pine-shaped, squamate cone terminates the stameniferous plant. Each scale is somewhat of a triangular shape, the apex joining the central stem. On the under surface of the scale are innumerable sessile and minute globules, which burst exactly in the manner of many of the ferns, and discharge a fine, strong-scented, yellow pollen. This palm rarely exceeds ten or twelve feet in height.

We stood over towards the coast of Borneo, with the wind strong, and quite against us. We now had a heavy swell and rough sea, which soon affected the less experienced amongst us with sickness to a distressing degree.

On the first of March we had sight of a lofty conical hill in Borneo, and on the 2d we came in view of the coast of that island. The wind, which had hitherto been steady and strong, sunk into a gentle breeze as we approached the land, passing from the N.E. to N.W. and N.N.W. with a calm sea.

On the 3d we were off the point called Tanjung api, and on the following day stood over in the direction of the islands called Natunas, the more southern of which we were in sight of, and even close to. Their vegetation seemed to be quite peculiar. We were at one time within two hundred yards of one of these islands; and could observe along the beach several handsome scitamineous plants, and a considerable number of Palms. In this part of our passage, we found the weather, though rather damp, and for the most part cloudy, remarkably agreeable. The thermometer did not rise above 80°, nor sink below 78°, in the course of twenty-four hours, during our passage from the coast of Borneo to that of Cambodia.

An hourly register of the barometer, kept day and night, indicated a double tide in the column of mercury. At ten A.M., it was generally at its height, which on successive days, varied at this hour from 29.98 inches, to 30.1 inches, the barometer being suspended about eighteen feet above the sea. From five to six P.M., it had attained its lowest level, varying on successive days from 29.86 inches to 29.95. From this period it continued to rise till about midnight, when it had again obtained its maximum, and from four to five a.m. was at its minimum.

About three P.M. on the 11th of March, we came abreast of the island of Pulo Ubi, in lat. 8° 25´ N., long. 104° 50´ E., off the southern extremity of Cambodia, and cast anchor in a bay on the N.E. side of it, and prepared to land. In the same bay a Chinese junk lay at anchor.

As we approached the beach, we could observe one or two huts in a plot of tall grass, overshadowed by a solitary cocoa-nut tree, and several persons walking about. Our books had stated the place to be inhabited, but the dreary appearance of the island, the stunted form of its vegetation, its steril and forbidding aspect, and above all, the total absence of every thing calculated to remind us of humanity, soon destroyed the hopes we had cherished of mingling so soon in the concerns of our fellow-creatures, and of observing society under circumstances which might be supposed to confer on it a peculiar interest. We were therefore not a little gratified to observe these traces. We were still more pleased to observe one of the inhabitants walk towards the point we were approaching, and thence concluded that they must have been in some degree accustomed to the advent of strangers. This person proved to be a slender, but healthy and active old man. He wore a blue cloak, and an ample blue turban, and had a thin, scanty, long beard. His appearance was not unlike that of an Arab. He saluted us with respect, and though none of our party could understand his language, we could easily perceive that he was not displeased with our visit. We accompanied him to his house close by, which we found to be a sort of temple. On a rude altar of wood, raised about three feet from the ground, and covered with mats, was placed a small earthen image, of a reverend, though rather grotesque looking old man, in a contemplative attitude, his countenance not altogether destitute of a certain air of benignity and conscious innocence. He wore a long flowing beard and loose garments. On his left stood a smaller figure of more humble pretensions; probably the attendant of the former, or minister of his will. The first was different from the figure or image (Joss,) the more common object of the worship of the lower orders of Chinese.

Before them were placed various offerings of fruit, sugar and sweet-meats. The altar was tawdrily ornamented with pieces of tinsel, shreds of gilt paper, and painted silks.

Before the shrine was placed a low platform over which a mat was thrown, on which the old man invited us to sit down. In one end of the room were placed baskets of rice, a few small wax tapers, and some yams. We found that two families lived on this spot, and one or two Chinese. The latter had come for the purpose of collecting the gelatinous Fucus, agar-agar. The former had, it would appear, lived here for several years. Their subsistence had probably been chiefly obtained from Chinese mariners, to whom this lofty island affords an admirable land-mark, for which they always make in their coasting voyages. They look upon the place as peculiarly sacred, and never pass it without offering up prayers and praises for their success in having made it. On this occasion they leave behind them a painted board, on which is written the name of their junk, the date of their arrival, the port they have left, &c. At this time several boards of this description were in the keeping of the old man.

If we were pleased with the civility and attention of our first acquaintance, we had reason to be no less so with the other members of this little community. It was altogether an interesting spectacle to see them crowd round, without the least fear or apprehension, and only anxious to shew us kindness, and to treat us with hospitality. A middle aged woman, of rather handsome appearance, after she had gratified her curiosity by a hasty glance at the strangers, made us some excellent tea, which she gave to us in small cups, in the usual manner of the Chinese. A man, about her own age, and apparently her husband, lay the wretched victim of that most distressing and horrible disease, elephantiasis. Our appearance for a moment seemed to rouse him from the moody melancholy which accompanies this complaint. Two handsome boys and a girl made up the family.

We were forcibly struck with the difference in the vegetation of this island from any that we had hitherto seen; a difference which, as it is not easily to be accounted for by its geographical position, is more probably owing to an unusually scanty supply of moisture, and perhaps in part also to the peculiar nature of the soil, which being very thin, and not retentive of moisture, must be unfavourable. The vegetation here could scarcely be termed arborescent. It was low, scanty and bushy. The Erythrina corallodendrum was among its stoutest, and the Caryota mitis, of Loureiro, among its tallest, trees. Various species of Dioscorea were common on the sloping sides of the hills, where also the wild plantain (Musa sapientum) grew in abundance. We had the good fortune to find this splendid herbaceous plant in flower. Unlike, however, to that luscious and most delicious fruit raised by the hand of man, the fruit of the wild plantain contains scarce any pulp whatever. Its leathery sheath encloses numerous series of large black seeds, attached to a pithy central stem, and immersed in a gummy substance resembling birdlime. It appeared by our systematic works, that the seeds of this most useful plant have been but rarely seen by botanists. Hence doubts had been expressed upon the subject. In none of the cultivated varieties are there any seeds discoverable, though at times we may observe minute black points in the pulp, disposed in longitudinal rows. These are probably the feeble traces of seeds not yet quite extinguished by cultivation, the black perisperm being the last to disappear.

We had now, therefore, a favourable opportunity of examining this matter. The seeds were numerous, covered with a thick, black, brittle shell, and as large as those of the custard-apple, but of a more irregular shape. We collected numbers of them. There is no necessity to refer, as Willdenow does, the origin of all the cultivated varieties, and of all the species enumerated by botanists, to the Musa troglodytarum, a native of the Molucca Islands, as the parent stock. Our specimens accorded with the descriptions given of Musa sapientum. The seeds were in all respects perfect, and apparently capable of propagating the plant. Indeed its existence on these islands, so rarely frequented by man, and altogether unfit for cultivation, can be accounted for on no other principle than the fertility of the seeds. It appears, therefore, that we ought to refer to this plant the origin of the cultivated species, which are probably no other than simple varieties of it.

The Yams found on this island are remarkably large. The green tuberosities commonly found on the stem of the plant were eagerly sought after by our Chinese followers, who regard them as a valuable medicine. The Erythrina mentioned above was now in flower, and made a handsome, shewy appearance. It was frequented by considerable numbers of a large and beautiful species of pigeon, a circumstance the more remarkable, as the birds we had hitherto seen in these latitudes were of solitary habits, few in number, and not gregarious. This bird was extremely handsome; its body was of a snow-white colour; its wings, and the extremity of its tail, tipped with black. It appeared to be about twice the size of our domestic pigeon. Though we shot one, we were not so fortunate as to procure it.

The only Palm found here was that already mentioned, the Caryota mitis, a species not enumerated in Persoon’s Synopsis, nor in the Species Plantarum of Willdenow, for what reason it does not appear. It is very well described by Loureiro; and it appears to be totally different from the Caryota urens.

On the sea-coast there is a species of Pandanus extremely common. It throws up a simple stem to the height of ten feet or more, in which respect only it seems to differ from the Pandanus odoratissimus, the habit of which is to extend along the ground, throwing down straight and stout roots into the earth for its support, as it extends.

The form, distribution, and peculiar appearance of the land we had now made were calculated to excite our attention, particularly in relation to the contiguous continent. We were entering amidst innumerable groups of islands, composing for the most part mountain masses, and all of them much elevated. They were as various in form and dimension, as they were numerous and picturesque. They were all covered with vegetation, which, after we had passed their southern boundary, assumed a more luxuriant appearance. They each might be imagined to be the abode of an innocent, a happy, an undisturbed people. Nature, arrayed in her most attractive colours, appeared to smile upon the scene. The sea was calm and unruffled; the sky serene and unclouded. Nothing could be more deceitful than this apparent fitness for the abode of man. There seemed little reason to believe that any of them had ever been occupied. The want of a constant supply of water must ever be a principal objection, while their steep forms and scanty soil forbid every attempt at cultivation. In many, the summits of the islands are rounded, in others peaked and rugged. In fact, we here appear to have ascended the tops of a range of mountains, in structure partaking of the nature of rocks both of the primitive and secondary kind. The direction of this partly submerged range is like that on the peninsula of Malacca, from north to south, bending a little from east to west. The breadth of the range is considerable. The islands form a continuous narrow belt extending along the coast, in this respect somewhat similar to those on the east coast of the bay of Bengal. There, however, we observe a stupendous parallel chain of mountains extending from one extremity of the peninsula to the other; whilst here the most remarkable circumstance was the extreme lowness of the continental land. It is an extensive alluvion on a level with the sea; on which we look in vain for hill or elevation of any sort. At the distance of a few miles, the trees only, and not the ground, are visible from the deck, whilst the islands, many of them rising above 1,000 feet, are to be seen many miles off.

The occurrence of granite on this, the first of the series, was rather unexpected.

This granite presents several varieties. It is less perfectly crystallized, and more granular, than that we found on the west coast of the peninsula of Malacca. Many of the specimens contain hornblende; and on the summit of the hill there is a red granite, which breaks into brick-like fragments. The lower granite is uncommonly hard, and breaks with much difficulty.

March 13th.—We had now got amongst innumerable groups of islands, for the most part of small dimensions, all of them lofty, abrupt on their sides, and almost invariably without any level ground attached. We remarked, however, that in proportion as we advanced towards the north, the vegetation had, as has already been observed, assumed a more luxuriant appearance. Vegetable life again assumed that vigour which had so often already attracted our admiration, and the intertropical forest again displayed its unparalleled riches. This sensible improvement in the forms of vegetation is probably owing to the genial influence of a milder climate, and perhaps still more to the change which has perceptibly taken place in the geological structure of the country. But feeble traces of granite, as rolled masses, were now to be seen. This series of rock had been substituted by various others of later formation.

In the course of the day we visited two of these islands. They were each about a mile in circumference, and from 200 to 300 feet high in the centre; the first lies in lat. 9° 58´ N., and long. 104° 37´ E., about ninety-three miles from Pulo Ubi: the other lies about three miles north of the last. In the first, the lowest rock is composed of compact feldspar, of an iron-brown colour, intersected by narrow seams of quartz. This rock is abundant along the base of the island, near to the sea-mark.

The bulk of the island appears to be composed of a compound rock, formed of clay-stone and potstone intermixed. This rock is rather soft, and its fracture resembles that of some fine grained sandstones. It occurs both on the top and towards the base of the hill.

Considerable beds of pure potstone, in a somewhat foliated form, occur in the last.

The other island is formed almost entirely of potstone, and the compound of potstone and claystone, mentioned as forming the bulk of the other island, is here comparatively in small quantity. The potstone contains imbedded small masses of clay slate.

In our excursions to-day we were so fortunate as to procure two of the pigeons seen for the first time on Pulo Ubi. They were here very numerous. Those we caught weighed about a pound each. This is to be reckoned amongst the handsomest of this handsome genus, and if ever domesticated, must prove a valuable acquisition to our aviaries.

March 14.—Arrived at Fu-kok or Pau-kok, a large island, a little to the north of the river of Can-cau. We cast anchor in an open roadstead, nearly off the middle of the island, in lat. 10° 17´ N., and long. 104° 16´ E. This and several other islands in the neighbourhood attain a considerable altitude towards the centre, where the hills, disposed in ridges running north and south, appear upwards of 2,000 feet in height. The eminences are continuous and gently undulating, rarely abrupt in their forms, or exposing much rocky surface. The island is everywhere covered with the thickest woods. We had no where seen more luxuriant vegetation than this place afforded.

Both on the preceding night and this morning, we observed a number of Praus sailing along the shores, but none of them could be enticed to come alongside. It was imagined that they had been unaccustomed to see a ship, and we afterwards learnt that our conjecture was correct. In the course of the morning, a prau, after repeated solicitations, came so near as to speak to us, but the people would not come on board. Some time after this a native accompanied one of the ship’s officers on board, and was followed by his prau. From this man, who spoke the language of Cochin China, we learned that the place was partly inhabited, and that at certain periods of the year, Cochin Chinese and Chinese fishermen came hither for the purpose of pursuing their calling; the latter chiefly for the purpose of collecting trepang, a black species of Holothuria. Though the spoken language of the people who now visited us was unknown to our Chinese followers, yet by having recourse to the use of a common character, to which the same ideas are attached, they were enabled to communicate with each other. This was the character commonly used by the Chinese, which they write by distinct letters, in straight lines from top to bottom. We thus learned that the island belonged to the king of Cochin-China, and that its most valuable production was Agila wood, the aquillaria agallocha, Roxb. (Aloxylum agallochium, Lour.) The fair promises of our vivacious and semibarbarous visitor excited hopes which were not destined to be realized. After the most particular inquiry, and the offer of considerable rewards for specimens of the fresh plant, we were reluctantly compelled to give up the search. It appeared that this wood is a royal monopoly, and that even to point it out to strangers is a crime never to be forgiven. In the course of the forenoon, we landed in two parties, followed at some distance by the native prau. The approach is over an extensive shallow bank, on which we observed great numbers of Asteriæ, Medusæ, Echini, and some corals. On the fishing stakes, in front of the village, we shot two sea-fowl of the genus Sterna.

On reaching the shore, about six or seven men, armed with spears, came down from the village, used threatening attitudes towards the party in the first boat, and appeared desirous of opposing our landing. Capt. M’Donnel, however, leaving his arms behind, leapt on shore, and went up to them with the greatest confidence, shewing them at the same time that he had no hostile intention towards them. Astonished at his boldness, or doubting of their own valour, they immediately changed their line of conduct, and appeared to welcome him with sincerity.

We were the less surprised at this inhospitable reception, on learning that the persons in question were not inhabitants of the island, but natives of China, who having enjoyed here a profitable fishing, without interruption, had their jealousy awakened by the appearance of strangers. Their accustomed insolence towards Europeans was visible even here. The Chinese now seemed anxious only to derive advantage from our visit; they followed us everywhere, and promised largely. We had soon reason to regret that we had made their acquaintance, for the Cochin-Chinese, who were remarkably civil and polite to us, seemed to be somewhat jealous of our attention towards the former, and kept themselves at a greater distance than at first. As we passed through their village, they invited us to enter their houses, and spread a mat for us to sit upon. Like all other Asiatics, they seat themselves on the floor, or recline on cushions while they converse. They offered us betel, and gave us pipes to smoke tobacco. It did not appear that they had tea amongst them. They were good-natured and polite; examined us very attentively, were much amused with our watches, laughing immoderately when they were held up to their ear. They had abundance of Agila wood in their houses, of which they offered us some. The coarser parts of this wood they beat up in a mortar till it has attained the consistence of saw-dust. This dust is then made into a paste with which they cover small reeds. The party had great quantities of these reeds in their possession. They are used by the Chinese, chiefly for sacred purposes, being placed before the images of their idols, on account of the perfume they give out when lighted. They burn with a slow smothered flame, somewhat like that of tinder. These reeds are known in English by the appellation of Joss sticks. Yet we looked in vain for any image of this deity. Here and there, however, in front of their houses, small wooden cells, raised on poles, were to be seen, which cells were abundantly provided with Joss sticks.

The island of Fu-kok is of very considerable extent, situated in a mild and equable climate, at no great distance from the mouth of the river Can-cau, and surrounded by numerous islands which shelter it from storms in either monsoon. The height of its mountains is such as to attract a constant supply of moisture, and the soil would appear to be of good quality, probably formed from a base of decomposed clay-slate; though this is mere conjecture, as we were not so fortunate as to discover a single point of rock, or even a stone, during our visit. Hence the vegetation of this island is extremely rich and luxuriant, and its general appearance exceedingly beautiful. Were it not for the extreme scantiness of low, or rather level, land, it would be reckoned admirably calculated for the habitation of man.

It is nearly of a triangular form, and broadest towards the northern extremity. Its utmost length is thirty-four miles, and its greatest breadth sixteen miles. The most southern point lies in lat. 9° 58´ N., and long. 104° 14´ E.

There are villages on several parts of the coast, and some of them are said to be populous. That which we visited might consist of about twenty families, who appeared to live comfortably, and in a friendly, social, and peaceable manner. The men were of a stout, but short make, intelligent, and rather good looking. Their houses were constructed on poles, and covered on the roof and sides with a thick, coarse bark, which split into numerous layers. They were raised about three feet from the ground. We saw but few signs of cultivation, and those only of recent date. The cocoa-nut and the plantain appeared to have been planted but a very short time, yet were thriving with great luxuriance. A small garden was attached to most of the habitations, in which onions and culinary herbs were cultivated. The island abounds in wild hogs, and we observed skins of the Rusa. Shell fish is abundant; and considerable quantities of Holothuria were drying in the sun. For a dollar, I purchased from a native, two dried skins of a very singular species of Ray. We shot five species of birds in the woods. For the plants which we found, I refer to the catalogue. Amongst them will be found a species of Mr. Brown’s new genus Haya, natural order Asclepiadeæ. The species is probably also new. It is extremely elegant. It grows on bare rocks, or climbs on trees, in thick, convoluted patches. The leaves are thick and fleshy, and the whole plant abounds in an acrid milky juice. We here procured specimens of the Casuarina equisetifolia, in flower. The tree is common along the beach here as well as on the west coast of the peninsula of Malacca. It is a very tall, handsome tree, somewhat resembling our pine. The wood is remarkably hard, yet the tree grows with great rapidity. All the trees here were Dioeceous; and this seems to be the true habit of this plant. It ought therefore to be removed to that class.

Towards evening we got into our boats, intending to visit a point of land which promised to afford us specimens of rock, but we found that we were not able to reach it, especially as we were at a great distance from the ship, and were threatened with a storm.

On the following morning we sailed round the island, and thus ascertained the dimensions stated above.

We continued to proceed northwards among innumerable islands, many of which, by their position with regard to each other, would seem to form extensive bays and well-sheltered harbours. The tides in some places are very strong and irregular. They rise to a very uncommon height for these latitudes. In some places the sea was observed to be not less than fifteen feet below high water-mark.

On the following day we landed on several small, rocky islands, off the southern extremity of Fu-kok. We found them composed of huge masses of sandstone. The surface of this sandstone was hollowed out into numerous shallow cavities; it presented considerable varieties in granular aspect and contained nodules of flint, quartz, &c.

We had been much exposed to a powerful sun during this day, the bad effect of which I soon after was destined to experience, having been laid up for some days with fever, which rendered me totally incapable of attending to any thing. We continued our course through the islands, sometimes keeping to the windward of them altogether, and at other times passing through narrow straits, with fine deep passages between the islands. Nothing could be more picturesque than the prospect which these islands afforded on such occasions. Mr. Crawfurd went on shore on one of them, and brought off specimens of granite and quartz-rock, of which it was entirely composed. The islands, however, immediately near to this were composed of variegated sand-stone.

On the 21st of March, about sun-set, some Chinese junks were seen riding at anchor in the harbour of Siam, and there, the same evening, we cast anchor. On the 22d, the pilot of a Chinese junk came on board, and represented that it would be necessary to send to Packnam, a village at the mouth of the river, for a pilot; he was doubtful whether the ship could pass the bar. The chief mate set out for this place in the morning, with a letter from Mr. Crawfurd for the chief person of the place. He was hospitably entertained during the night by the chief, and returned on the following day, with a small present of fruit from him, but no letter. In the meanwhile they had referred to Bankok, and a pilot was ordered to attend us.

25th.—We weighed anchor, with a light, fair wind, and attempted to pass the bar, but stuck on a bank of mud, after clearing the principal bar, which is of sand. Here the ship lay quite easy and upright, supported on one side by props till next tide. At low water there were but six feet on the bar. About 5 p.m. the ship begun to float again, and after touching now and then, got over without much difficulty as the tide made. The entrance is tolerably well marked out by lines of fishing-stakes. The mouth of the river forms an angle with the entrance from the harbour, so that the former is not perceptible until you are close to it. The river gradually opens upon the view; it is called Menam: it is about a mile and a half in breadth at its mouth. After passing two or three short reaches, we anchored opposite to the town of Packnam. The river is here about three-quarters of a mile in breadth, and very deep; the banks are low, and covered with woods.

CHAPTER III.

Interpreter arrives.—Requested to land the Guns.—Entertained by a Chief.—Physiological Remarks on the Siamese.—Progress to Bankok.—A floating Bazar.—Bankok described.—The Governor General’s Letter to the King delivered to a Chief.—A suspicious Attempt made to get Possession of the Presents.—Interview with one of the Ministers.—Disgusting Servility of his Attendants.—Negotiations respecting the Performance of the Court Ceremonies.—Proceed to the Palace.—Addressed in good Latin by a Native.—Observations on the Road to the Audience.—Description of the Audience.

March 26th.—Early in the morning, a man, dressed somewhat in the style of an European sailor, came off, and stated that he had been sent from Bankok to act as interpreter, and to accompany us to the capital. This was one of that degraded, but self-important class of society, well known in India under the general title of Portuguese, a title to which a hat and one or two other articles of clothing in the European fashion would seem to give every black man, every native, and every half caste, an undisputed claim. Our visitor bore the characteristic national features of the Siamese, amongst whom he had been born; he spoke the Portuguese language with ease and fluency, but English very imperfectly. He said, that the chief of Packnam requested that the guns might be landed, as the ship could not otherwise be permitted to proceed upwards without an order from court to that effect. It was observed, that the Portuguese frigate did not land her guns; he replied, that such was a special indulgence from the court. Mr. Crawfurd was, at the same time, invited on shore to dinner, the chief representing that he had received orders to entertain all persons of the rank of ambassadors or envoys during their stay within his jurisdiction. Very little notice was taken of, and no direct communication was held with, the interpreter.

This sort of verbal communication, on matters of business, did not augur well towards the success of our mission. We could not fail to remark, that the different personages who had as yet visited us, were either of very low rank, or of none at all, neither did they exhibit any mark by which they might be recognised as acting from authority. The chief, or, as the gentlemen of our party styled him, governor of Packnam, himself, to all appearance, of small political importance, being merely the head man of several poor fishing villages, did not condescend to visit us, or to hold other communication with us than that described. It was hinted that a man of some rank had been sent hither to receive us, but neither did this personage make his appearance. After breakfast, Captain M’Donnell went on shore to wait upon the chief of Packnam; he induced the latter to send a young man, a relation of his, on board. This man was received with much attention; he appeared to take little notice of the ship, or, indeed, of any thing else; he was naked from the waist upwards, and rather meanly dressed even for a Siamese; he partook of sweetmeats and spirits, and after inviting Mr. Crawfurd to go on shore, and conversing with the latter for about half an hour, he rose and departed, Mr. Crawfurd having agreed to visit the chief in the evening.

We accordingly set out in three different boats, Mr. Crawfurd and Captain Dangerfield having their servants, harkaras, silver sticks, state umbrellas, and dressed in the uniform of the Governor-General. A crowd of people, consisting of old men and women, and many children, were collected on the beach, and appeared to view us with considerable curiosity. The young man who had visited us on board, alone received us at the landing-place, from whence we walked through a narrow noisome lane, paved with wood, the distance of about fifty yards, to the chief’s house, a place of sorry appearance; we ascended by a flight of wooden steps into a small enclosed court, which opened behind into the house. In an open room, tawdrily ornamented with Chinese paper lanterns, Dutch glass, and scraps of painted paper, we found the chief, a tall, slender, rather elderly man, seated on a chair; he got up to welcome Mr. Crawfurd, and conducted him to a chair on his left. A table was placed in the centre of the room, and soon after we had taken our seats (we were luckily accommodated with chairs), a dinner, consisting of roast pork, roast ducks and fowls, and a pilaw, were brought in. The dishes were cooked after the European fashion, two or three native Christians who attended, to judge by their busy manner, being very anxious to approve themselves on the present occasion. We had dined before going on shore, but at the request of the chief, who, indeed, appeared to be very desirous of pleasing us, we sat down to table, accompanied by the interpreter already alluded to, but neither the chief nor any of his family partook of the entertainment. A crowd of people were collected in the court, and viewed us as we sat, evidently with considerable interest. Opposite to the chief sat the personage who had been sent to receive us; he was a good-looking, middle-aged man, a Malay, who had been once or twice in Bengal: we spent nearly two hours thus conversing on various subjects. On our getting up to depart, the chief rose and shook hands with all of us.

March 27.—No communication had arrived respecting permission for us to proceed to the capital. One of the king’s boats, which had been sent down for the purpose of taking Mr. Crawfurd to Bankok, returned this morning. This was a long and narrow boat, turned up at the bow and stern, bearing resemblance to a canoe, and provided with a sort of chair in the middle, over which a shed of mats had been erected. The rowers were numerous, but the accommodation trifling, as it could carry but one or two persons. It appeared not a little absurd that they should think of offering only this boat for the accommodation of a numerous party. It was doubtless expected that Mr. Crawfurd would go up alone.

Accompanied by Mr. Rutherford, I went on shore in the evening, and strolled through the village. We found it difficult to land, it being now low water, and the banks consisting of soft mud. We ascended into a house built, as a great proportion of the village is, over the river. We passed thus from house to house, on elevated boards, till we reached dry land. We found the people remarkably civil, and even obliging. They received us with smiles, and seemed anxious to entertain us. The women were not less forward than the men on these occasions. They collected round us, talked, laughed, and expressed not the least apprehension. We found the houses dirty, and lumbered with billets of wood, with little provision for ease. Yet the people appeared to live in tolerable comfort, though their means of subsistence, if we except that which they derive from the river and the sea, was not very evident. There appeared a great paucity even of fish. Rice they seemed to have in abundance. They were well fed, and stout, but rather below the middle stature. They cut the hair close to the head, leaving a short tuft on the forehead, which they comb backward. There is no difference in this respect between the men and women, both cutting the hair off short. Europeans are not more attentive to render their teeth white, than the Siamese are to make them black. Amongst them black teeth only are considered beautiful, and it must be allowed that they succeed perfectly well in this species of ornament. This, together with the coarse red painting of the mouth and lips, which they derive from the constant eating of betel, catechu, and lime together, gives to them a disgusting appearance. The face of the Siamese is remarkably large, the forehead very broad, prominent on each side, and covered with the hairy scalp in greater proportion than I have observed in any other people. In some, it descends to within an inch or even less of the eye-brows, covers the whole of the temples, and stretches forwards to within nearly the same distance of the outer angle of the eye. The cheek bones are large, wide, and prominent. A principal peculiarity in the configuration of their countenance is the great size of the back part of the lower jaw. The corona process here projects outwards, so as to give to this part of the face an uncommon breadth. One would imagine, on a careless inspection, that they were all affected with a slight degree of goitre, or swelling of the parotid gland. A similar appearance is often observable in Malays. The people generally go naked from the waist upwards, sometimes throwing a piece of cloth over the shoulders. Old women in general expose the breast; but the young, and the middle aged, wrap a short piece of cloth round the chest, of sufficient length to form a single knot in front, thus leaving the shoulders and arms bare. From the loins to the knee, they wrap a piece of blue or other coloured cloth, over which the better sort wear a piece of Chinese crape, or a shawl.

The bazar, if a few scattered huts along a path may deserve that name, was extremely meagre. A few plantains, pumpkins, betel, tobacco, and jagory, were almost the only articles it afforded, by the sale of which a few old women contrived to gain a subsistence.

We proceeded to a monastic institution, situated on the bank of the river. The houses here are well built, spacious, and convenient. The whole is included in an extensive and open space of ground, kept clean and neat. The accommodation for the priests is excellent; the houses are well raised, the floors and walls made of boards. A neat temple occupies one extremity of the enclosure. The fraternity received us with great cheerfulness, and, at our request, readily admitted us into the interior of the temple. Here, raised to about the middle height of the edifice, on a broad platform or altar, we discovered about fifty gilded images of Buddha, all in the sitting posture. The principal image, considerably above the human stature, was placed behind, and over him was raised a sort of arched canopy of carved and gilded wood. The others were ranged close before him. On each corner of the altar, with their faces turned towards the images, clothed in the usual costume of their order, and in the attitude of devotion, stood two priests. The general form of the figure of Buddha was not essentially different from that worshipped by the natives of Ceylon. The hair is short and curled, the head surmounted by a flame or glory, the countenance placid, benign, and contemplative. They have given somewhat of a Siamese, or rather Tartar expression to the features, by rather prolonging the eyebrows, and giving an obliquity to the eye; the nose is more sharp, and the lips very thick.

The Buddha of the natives of Ceylon, on the contrary, is a complete model of the ancient Egyptian or Ethiopian countenance, from which their images never deviate in the slightest degree. There can be no question, however, that both nations intend to represent one and the same personage.

Nearly in the centre of this enclosure, a temporary building, of a pyramidal form, and constituted of successive stages, was then building. We were informed that this was intended to contain the funeral pile on which the body of a chief, who had died about five months before, was to be burnt in the course of another month; it being customary, amongst Siamese of rank, to preserve the bodies of their relations in their houses for a greater or shorter period, according to the rank of the deceased. Great preparations were now making for the approaching ceremony, and, in a building close by, we found some priests at work, painting devices for the occasion. These were principally grotesque figures of old men, monsters, serpents, &c.

In the course of the evening, we called upon the relative of the late chief. He seemed well pleased at our taking notice of the preparations that were going forward, and still more when I expressed a desire to see the body, which lay in one end of the room, behind a white screen. He immediately led us to the place, cast the screen aside, and exhibited an oblong box, covered with white muslin, and ornamented with green-coloured and gold-leaf fringe.

We proceeded along the bank for nearly two miles, on a paved path-way; the ground here being low and swampy. This village rarely exhibits more than two or three houses in depth from the river; yet, extending in a continuous line for several miles, the population must be very considerable. We passed several other handsome temples. It should be observed, that at the monastic institution mentioned above, there is a battery facing the river, but it cannot be said to command it. Here there are ten or twelve iron guns, mounted on decayed carriages, half sunk into the earth, and at present unserviceable.

March 28th.—The boat which had gone the day before returned during the night, and we now saw it in its usual place. The Malay, whom we had met at the house of the chief, and who had been sent to meet us, returned in it. He came on board in the course of the morning, and stated that the ship might proceed up the river, without delay or restriction of any sort. The anchor was accordingly immediately weighed, and though the tide was against us, we proceeded up with an easy breeze. The banks of the river were still very low; they were thickly planted with the attap, which gave them a picturesque appearance; in the background we observed the betel palm to grow in great abundance, and to appearance spontaneously, the ground being too low to admit of cultivation. Besides these, the jungle consisted of various species of Calamus, and of bamboo, and long grass. Proceeding farther up the river, extensive plains opened in prospect. They presented rather a steril aspect, the harvest having been lately gathered in. These plains occupy the left bank of the river, over which they were now elevated about eight or ten feet. We were given to understand, that in the rainy season they are covered with water, to the depth of two or three feet, and are therefore well adapted for the cultivation of rice. They appeared to extend as far as the eye could reach. Between them and the river, there is a narrow strip of jungle. Houses are interspersed along the bank, and surrounded by extensive plantations of areca palms, plantains, and a few cocoa-nut trees. The houses are small, but neat, consisting of one or two rooms, raised about three feet from the ground. The opposite side of the river is covered with jungle. The banks are tolerably steep, with very deep water, from thirty to sixty feet near to their edge. The mud is stiff, plastic, forming, in all probability, an excellent soil. The gentlemen of our party went on shore in the evening, as we lay at anchor, waiting the turn of tide. They shot several species of birds, amongst which were a beautiful Pigeon, a Minor, and the blue Jay of Bengal.

About sun-set, we again weighed anchor, and continued to proceed up the river till about midnight. We now began to be much molested with musquitoes.

March 29th.—We recommenced proceeding up the river at an early hour, and about 8 A.M. cast anchor nearly opposite to the middle of the town.

In the course of our progress this morning, the various scenes upon the river afforded considerable interest. Numerous small canoes, for the most part carrying but one individual, small covered boats, &c., were plying in every direction. The market-hour was now approaching, and all seemed life and activity. Here one or more of the priests of Buddha were guiding their little canoe on its diurnal eleemosynary excursion. There an old woman hawked betel, plantains, and pumpkins. Here you saw canoes laden with cocoa-nuts,—there, groups of natives were proceeding from house to house, on their various occupations. But the most singular feature in the busy scene was the appearance of the houses, floating on the water, in rows about eight, ten, or more, in depth, from the bank. This novel appearance was peculiarly neat and striking. The houses were built of boards, of a neat oblong form, and towards the river provided with a covered platform, on which were displayed numerous articles of merchandise: fruit, rice, meat, &c. This was, in fact, a floating bazar, in which all the various products of China and of the country were exposed for sale. At either end the houses were bound to long bamboos driven into the river. They are thus enabled to move from place to place according as convenience may demand. Every house is furnished with a small canoe, in which they visit, and go from place to place to transact business. Almost all those collected in this quarter seem to be occupied by merchants, many of them very petty no doubt, and by tradespeople, as shoe-makers, tailors, &c. The latter occupations are followed almost exclusively by the Chinese. The houses are in general very small, consisting of a principal centre room, and one or two small ones, the centre being open in front, for the display of their wares. The houses are from twenty to thirty feet in length, and about half that space in breadth. They consist of a single stage, the floor raised above the water about a foot, and the roof thatched with palm leaves. At low water, when the stream is rapid, there appears to be but little business done in these shops. Their proprietors are then to be seen lolling or sleeping in front of their warehouses, or otherwise enjoying themselves at their ease. At all hours of the day, however, many boats are passing and repassing. They are so light and sharp in their form, that they mount rapidly against the stream. They are rowed with paddles, of which the long canoes have often eight or ten on each side. The number of Chinese appears to be very considerable; they display the same activity and industry here that they do wherever they are to be found. Their boats are generally larger, and rowed by longer paddles. They have a sort of cabin, made of basket-work, in the centre, which serves to contain their effects, and answers the purposes of a house. Many of them carry pieces of fresh pork up and down the river for sale.

The river at Bankok is about a quarter of a mile in breadth, without including the space occupied on each side by floating houses. It carries down a large body of water, and contains a large proportion of soft mud; its depth, even close to the bank, generally varies from six to ten fathoms, whilst its rapidity is about three miles an hour. As far as we could yet judge, not having been on shore, we suspected that by far the greater part of the population lived on the water, in floating houses, moveable from place to place. The inconveniences of a city built in this manner must be numerous. The houses are small, the accommodations trifling, and the occupants must be ever on their guard against accidents. A trifling population must in this way occupy a vast extent of ground. You look in vain for any thing better than a small, low hut, of one stage only in height. These little houses, or huts, it is true, are generally handsome and neat, but they make, on the whole, a paltry, though to us a novel, appearance. Their form is chiefly Chinese, as is also that of their temples.

In the course of the day, two children, about six years old, the son and nephew of the minister who conducts all the business carried on between the court and Europeans of every description, came on board to see the ship, bringing with them a present, consisting of sweetmeats and fruits. They were neatly dressed, from the waist downwards, and had their bodies slightly rubbed over with a yellowish colour, either turmeric or powdered sandal wood. They wore round the neck several ornaments of gold and precious stones, none of them of much value. Each had a long necklace of moon-stones set in gold thrown over the shoulder, and suspended from the neck a large, broad, golden ornament, studded with diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, all of inferior quality and of trifling value. Like all Indian children, they shewed a wonderful precocity of manners, conducting themselves with the greatest ease and propriety.

In the evening we were visited by a man of rank, second to the minister alluded to. He was an old, lively, and inquisitive man, upwards of sixty-five years of age. He came in one of the king’s boats, which was rowed by men dressed in coarse scarlet cloth.

This old gentleman conversed for some time with great ease and affability, inquired into the respective rank and occupation of the several gentlemen of the mission, and seemed to welcome us with great cordiality. He soon intimated that the object of his visit was to procure the letter from the Governor-General to the King. He had brought with him a handsome golden cup for its reception. On this, the letter, wrapt in gold tissue, was placed in his presence. On his expressing a wish to depart, Mr. Crawfurd took up the cup, and raising it to his head, proceeded through a double line of sepoys, with presented arms, drawn out for the occasion, to the gangway, from which he handed it down to one of the gentlemen of the mission placed in the chief’s boat to receive it. The latter delivered it to the chief, who placed it negligently on a piece of old carpet, on which he sat.

March 30th.—The Portuguese, who continued to visit us from time to time, brought a message from the minister Peea-Suri-Wong-Montree, to the effect, that he would be happy to accommodate the mission with a house during their stay at Bankok. The offer was accepted, and, at the request of Mr. Crawfurd, Captain Macdonald went on shore to examine the house. His report was far from flattering to our expectations. The building, which appeared to be an out-house, intended for a store-room, contained but four small, ill-ventilated rooms, the approach to which led through a trap-door from below, and on three sides they were almost entirely excluded from fresh air. There was not a single out-house for the accommodation of a numerous train of followers. The place was besides completely shut out from the court, and the open space occupied by the chief himself, whose accommodations appeared to be abundantly ample and comfortable. A list of the persons forming the suite of the Agent of the Governor-General had been transmitted to the minister at an early period after our arrival, by which he must have been convinced that the house he had allotted was totally inadequate for the accommodation of the party. Besides, the manner in which it had been granted, was calculated to awaken suspicion that he either wished to have the mission entirely at his own disposal, excluding every one else from visiting us, and be enabled to keep the strictest watch over our conduct, or that he wished to degrade it, by affecting to regard it as of but little importance. The latter inference appeared the more probable, from the circumstance of his own accommodations being abundantly respectable and ample, and yet the number of his retainers did not appear to equal that of our followers. With Asiatics, as with other nations, it is the custom for the government to provide accommodation for persons sent on the public service from one court to another, in an official capacity.

In the present instance, it was conferred by an individual, in a very inadequate manner, and as a matter of favour and of indulgence on his part. It should be observed, however, that the number of houses built of brick and mortar, and roofed with tiles, is here very scanty; and, although the house allotted for the use of the mission was in all respects inferior to those occupied by the chief, yet it is possible that they may have considered it as admirably adapted for the purpose.

No person of rank had yet waited on the Agent to the Governor General, and all communication with the minister was carried on through the Malay so often alluded to, a man to all appearance of low rank, cunning, suspicious, and artful in the highest degree. He could be looked upon only in the light of a vigilant spy, supple, fawning, and familiar, yet ready to take advantage of every expression, and of every act of our conduct, nor were the most trifling and indifferent matters beyond his notice; and, on one occasion, when a young gentleman on board, not connected with the mission, went to visit the Portuguese Consul, this man meanly traced his steps, and followed him into the house. His character was besides publicly spoken of as being little short of infamous; and, on more than one occasion, he had been treated by the captains of American and European ships with a degree of harshness and rigour which no man possessed of the least degree of feeling or of credit could have possibly submitted to. His particular duty is to superintend the conduct of the Malays who frequent this port. I may observe of this man, that he appeared to be about forty-five years of age. He was tall, active, and rather thin. In appearance, he was not to be distinguished from that sect of Mohammedans so numerous on the coast of Coromandel, Malabar, and Ceylon, and usually known under the general and indefinite appellation of Moormen. The sect is called Mopla. They are, for the most part, petty traders, and are generally to be seen hawking their wares about the houses of Europeans. They shave the head, and wear on its crown a small white cap. This man always wore such a cap: the upper part of his body was naked: round the loins he wore a piece of coarse cloth, turned up between the legs, and, at times, a coarse shawl. Such were the accomplishments, and such the appearance of Kochai-Sahac, a man whom it was scarce possible to look upon without distrust.

The ship had not yet been secured, before a message was brought by this man to demand the presents for the king. A list of the articles had been demanded, and forwarded as soon as we entered the mouth of the river. Their first object was to procure an English horse, originally intended as a present for the king of Cochin China. It would seem that they were much pleased with this gift, and indeed they were struck with astonishment at the great value of the presents in general, and hence they could but ill conceal their joy on the occasion, and that they had been little accustomed to receive gifts of such value. Unlike the more civilized states of further India, the Siamese court, in the urgency and frequency of its demands, betrayed a degree of meanness and avidity in this matter at once disgusting and disgraceful. For several successive days, there was no end to their importunities. The most valuable, as well as the most trifling articles, were taken away without the least ceremony, and intrusted to the Moorman and a few common labourers. In the course of the day, a mean-looking person came on board, saying, that he was desired to take away the presents. The circumstance appeared suspicious. He was told that he could not have them, on which he went away apparently quite satisfied. It is probable that this man had been sent by the prince, or some other person of rank, to pry into the affair, as the Moorman asserted that he was unauthorized to make any such demand. The articles, as they came up, with the exception of the horse, consisting of superfine cloth, English shawls, muslins, glass ware, muskets, and a small barouche, were taken to the minister’s house, where they underwent a severe scrutiny.

The Portuguese consul at this place now sent a person in his suite to wait upon the Agent of the Governor General. He spoke French with tolerable accuracy, and excused the consul from not coming in person, alleging as the reason, that the court would look upon such a visit in an unfavourable light, on account of our not having as yet paid a visit to the king; but that ceremony over, he would have the pleasure of calling.

On wishing to go on the river in the evening, we learnt the disagreeable intelligence that we were to be prisoners, and restricted from intercourse with the people until the ceremony of our introduction should be over. The only latitude we could aspire to was to pass from the ship to the house on shore occupied by the Agent of the British government, at the distance of a few yards only. This circumstance was the more irksome, from the day of our intended introduction having been put off for another week, and it was rendered the more disagreeable by the inadequate accommodation they had assigned to the mission. They seemed anxious only to procure presents, and presents in any shape were eagerly snatched at. They shewed none of those little attentions so pleasing to strangers, and understood by every people who have made the least progress in civilization. Their conduct in this respect formed a striking and unfavourable contrast with that of the Barman people towards Colonel Symes on a similar occasion. Neither fruit nor any other refreshment was offered to us; nor was the assistance of labourers to be procured even when solicited. It was mysteriously hinted that the king would provide our people with food during our stay, but no such offer was ever tendered. The conduct of the court was that of marked neglect, which, in a people notoriously guided by ceremony and form, could only be attributed to design, and in no degree to ignorance. Their conduct neither amounted to personal insult, nor to ostensible contempt; and it is perfectly evident that they entertained proper sentiments of respect for our government, and an ill-concealed dread of its well-known power, from which we might have inferred that they would make no difficulty in granting whatever such a government would deign to ask.

In the evening a message was brought by the Malay, to say that the minister would be glad to see Mr. Crawfurd. Accompanied by Captain Dangerfield, he accordingly made him a visit. He received them in a large and lofty hall, open on one side, spread with carpets, and hung with glass lights and Chinese lanterns. They took their seats on carpets spread for the purpose, and were entertained with tea, fruit, and Chinese preserves. It would appear that the conversation was of a general nature, and rather formal. They were well-pleased with the attention of the chief, and spoke favourably of their reception. He offered to make what alterations were deemed necessary to fit the house for our convenience, an offer which he subsequently bore little in remembrance. The servility which the attendants of this man observed towards him, appears to have been quite disgusting, and altogether degrading to humanity. During the whole of the visit they lay prostrate on the earth before him, and at a distance. When addressed, they did not dare to cast their eyes towards him, but raising the head a little, and touching the forehead with both hands united in the manner by which we would express the most earnest supplication, their looks still directed to the ground, they whispered an answer in the most humiliating tone. The manner in which he was approached by the servants of his household was even still more revolting to nature. When refreshments were ordered, they crawled forward on all fours, supported on the elbow and toes, the body being dragged on the ground. In this manner they pushed the dishes before them from time to time, in the best manner that their constrained and beast-like attitude would admit, until they had put them into their place, when they retreated backwards in the same grovelling manner, but without turning round.

How abominable! how revolting this assumption of despotic power! that would vainly assimilate a weak and frail mortal to the Deity, and that could trample under its feet not only the body, degrading it to the condition of the brute beasts of the field, but even the mind of man, and render servility perpetual!

Yet this haughty chief was himself but a minister of the fifth order in importance, doomed to take his turn of beast-like grovelling, as was subsequently exhibited on visiting Chroma-chit, son to the king. Every man here is doomed to crawl on the earth before his superior. The nation must be considered as entirely the slaves of the king, of whose lives, as well as property, he can dispose at will.