6 Mission to the Court of Siam. [No. 97. 



but his writer promised to let him know when he awoke ; and 

 almost as soon as my people, the writer made his appearance 

 with a present of ten or twelve trays of fruit, and a civil speech ; 

 a few minutes after he had taken his departure, he returned 

 again with three or four trays of sweetmeats and oranges, 

 sent by the Myo-won, with a civil message, and a request to 

 be excused seeing me to-morrow; I however repeated my re- 

 quest of an interview to-morrow, being hurried from delays on 

 the road hither, and have not heard his answer; in the mean- 

 time, as usual, the people are not allowed to go out, and 

 two people accompanied my grass cutter when he went for 

 grass. I am told we are still five days from Bankok, and that 

 it is impossible to take on the elephants by a shorter route 

 than twenty days, up the west side of the Nakoutchathee* 

 river and down the east, the small nullahs being under the 

 influence of the tide, and the mud consequently deep. My in- 

 formant is the Myotsa of Taung-ka-paung, a wily old Taline, 

 who came here in the great rising of 1876, (1816. a. d.) 



January 26th. — Camboorie. About 10 o'clock the Myo-won' s 

 writer came out to say, the Won would be glad to see me in the 

 afternoon, as he was engaged now listening to the instructions 

 of some Poonghees of great sanctity, who live the greater part 

 of the year in the jungle, sleeping under trees, with no fear of 

 wild beasts. He inquired what I was in the habit of eating, 

 as he wished to give me an entertainment; I told him I was 

 obliged by his kind intentions, but as I never eat but twice 

 a day begged him not to take any trouble on that account. I 

 had found this the best plea for not partaking of their unsavory 

 kindness, as abstinence is considered meritorious, and eating 

 only twice a day quite a virtue. At a little after lh. the same 

 person came to say the Myo-won was prepared to receive me, I 

 accordingly rode in taking with me a double barrelled gun, a flask 

 or two of powder, some caps, and a small carpet. On arrival at 

 a zayat on the bank of the river, ten minutes walk from my tent, 

 I found all the officers of the town assembled, one of whom met 



* My informant did not appear to know, or at all events did not give 

 us to understand, that this river was a branch of the Mav-nam. 



