1840.] Mission to the Court of Siam. 233 



succeed his half brother, the present king. He is intimate 

 with Mr. Hunter and Captain Browne ; the latter has in- 

 structed him in observing and finding the longitude, in which 

 he was a very apt scholar ; he is easily accessible to all English 

 frequenting the port, and much attached to us. The room 

 we were received in was fitted in the English style, and on 

 the table was a splendid gilded lamp with cut-glass shades, 

 which was made for William the Fourth, the walls were 

 decorated with English prints, and he had a small library 

 of English books, of which the Encyclopedia Britannica formed 

 a part. He was kind and cordial in his reception, and fami- 

 liar in his conversation with us all. Our entertainment con- 

 sisted of a light supper, coffee, and sweetmeats, after which he 

 went to look at his band in an ante-room ; it consisted of twelve 

 or fourteen musicians. Several of the instruments were of his 

 own invention. He moved freely about the room, in which 

 we followed his example. He introduced us to his wife, 

 who is a tall fine woman of Taline descent, of unusually 

 pleasing manners for a Siamese. He had his little son, who was 

 asleep, brought out to us ; I have seldom seen a finer child, he 

 is about five months old, and was dressed in a red English 

 frock and blue cap, with a gold band round it ; he had been 

 inoculated four or five days ago by Dr. Bradley, and the disease 

 promised to be favorable. The small-pox is raging here with fatal 

 violence; it is treated by the natives by repeated bathing or 

 rather effusion of cold water five or six times a day from the 

 commencement of the pyrexia. Chow-fa-noi also shewed us his 

 jewels, which must be of considerable value ; there were three 

 broad gold belts studded with diamonds, the smallest of which, 

 by rough calculation, contained 1300, many of them large and 

 valuable ; a box containing thirty-five rings, many of them dia- 

 monds of considerable value; he had only one or two rubies, and 

 those inferior ones ; the jewels were strewed about the table in 

 perfect confidence. His reception of us was frank and cordial. 

 His servants, to one or two of whom he speaks in English, 

 and in which language they are obliged to answer, stand up and 

 move about his house with freedom. There were none of the no- 

 bles of the land present. We took our leave about 10 J o^clock. 



