1840.] Mission to the Court of Siam. 227 



missioned healthy how long I had been on the road, how 

 treated, &c. &c. Near the end of the audience, he inquired 

 on what terms we were with the Burmans; I detailed fully 

 the state of our relations with Ava. He said, the Siamese had 

 always been the foes of the Burmans, who are never to be 

 trusted; the Cochin-Chinese are also of the same character; 

 for though he had been a benefactor to the present king's 

 father, they had gone to war with him ; but with the Chinese 

 they had always been friends from the beginning of time, 

 and hoped they should be friends, through all time coming, 

 with the English. I took the opportunity of saying, that 

 the Right Honorable the Governor General would be happy 

 to hear how entirely his Majesty's wishes for increasing 

 friendship and intercourse between the two countries coincided 

 with his own. He said he was much obliged to the Governor of 

 Bengal for the present Mission. From the knowledge I have 

 of the Laos language, and its affinity to the Siamese, I could 

 make out that my answers to the king's questions were 

 modified to meet the royal ear. Mr. Hunter, however, told 

 me that the entire substance of what I had said was com- 

 municated. At the end of the audience his Majesty said, if I 

 had any business to transact, the Chowkoon-booden and Chow- 

 koon-maha-see-na (the Praklang) would attend to it, and 

 that any wish of the Governor of Bengal was the same as if it 

 were his own. He requested Mr. Hunter (whom they consider 

 as a Siamese officer) to pay me every attention, and let me 

 want nothing that was to be had in Siam ; he then gave a 

 few strokes with a ratan on some metallic substance, and 

 the gold cloth was drawn across the hall before the throne, 

 the courtiers all made repeated obeisances, and the audience 

 closed. We remained a few minutes after the king had retired. 

 Coon-Sit came over to us and introduced me to Chowkoon- 

 booden, who said he should be glad to see me, and hear 

 every thing I had to say. The hall of audience is about 

 120 feet long, and 60 broad, with two unsightly rows of square 

 brick pillars, about 15 feet from the wall; and between these 

 pillars there is a space of about 45 or 50 feet covered with 

 carpets ; close to the curtain, a little to the left of the throne, 



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