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



for the people, and boughs for the elephants, which we are 

 obliged to tie up at night, as there is so much paddy ex- 

 posed at this season. This afternoon I had a request from 

 the Myo-won that I would call on him, with which I imme- 

 diately complied, and found that our boat had arrived at the 

 capital during the previous night, and the ministers had sent 

 an order to the chief here to furnish me with boats to proceed, 

 leaving the elephants and horse. I endeavoured, without suc- 

 cess, to take the latter, as I should want him ; they made all 

 manner of excuses ; said there were no boats large enough ; I 

 should have to wait a day, as they must send down the river 

 for one ; I told them, I had seen several boats here sufficiently 

 large ; they said they were unsteady and unsafe ; I replied 

 the horse was accustomed to boating, that I had carried him 

 500 miles in a boat last year; they then shuffled from one 

 objection to another. I begged them to say at once if I would 

 be allowed to take him or not, as I had no intention to oppose 

 their wishes, but if not positively prevented, I wished to take 

 him with me as necessary to my comfort; though they would 

 not pointedly refuse, they would not allow me to take him. After 

 some conversation on matters of no interest I took my leave, 

 and they set about preparing our boats. I this morning sent a 

 Taline lad (the head mahout) to a village about a mile and a half 

 down the river ; the only Taline there is (with his family) em- 

 ployed in making bricks for the Myo-won, to whom he is a 

 bonded debtor; he said that that was the commencement of 

 the road to Bankok, that buffaloes, people, and elephants travel it 

 every day ; that about u a call *' inland from where they were, 

 the jungle terminated, being only a narrow strip by the river, and 

 from thence with a glass they might see three zayats on the 

 road at about equal distances, and from the last, from the back of 

 the elephants, they might see the village Quankalanai (Ta- 

 line king's village) on the banks of the May-nam river ; that 

 the distance was easily done in half a day by an unencumbered 

 man ; that he himself came that way a short time ago, his re- 

 sidence being on this side of the May-nam, in little more than 

 half a day with a little boy of his, whom he pointed out. The 

 family were all familiar with the road, and some of the women 



