1840.] Mission to the Court of Siam. 235 



A large concourse of people were collected outside ; on inter- 

 rogating some of them, they said they had come to see the (Kek 

 Mounts) visitors. There might be about 100 people, princes and 

 others, in the hall. He asked nearly the same questions as the 

 king, to which the same answers were returned. I complained of 

 the detention of my letters, and said the Mya-won of Camboorie 

 should be reprimanded for stopping them contrary to the cus- 

 tom of all civilized countries. The prince appeared affable and 

 good tempered 3 but Mr. Hunter, who sees him frequently, says 

 he was distant and constrained, evidently at a loss what to say. 

 The visit lasted about an hour, (the round-about questions and 

 answers occupying nearly all the time) when we were asked to 

 go into a large hall outside, where a table was spread and re- 

 freshments offered us and fruit, sweetmeats, the Parklang's coffee- 

 set were again in requisition ; here we remained perhaps half an 

 hour, and then returned home. The visit was altogether one of 

 ceremony ; no one spoke but the prince and myself. Mr. Hun- 

 ter again kindly accompanied me. 



February 24th.— Yesterday received dispatches from Mr. 

 Blundell. I saw the Praklang to-day, and pushed for the delivery 

 of the Thugs, as they are in his division of the kingdom, 

 and said, I would write with them to Captain Macfarquhar, 

 who would pay the person on delivery, and sent in charge of 

 them, fifteen rupees each, to defray any expence the Siamese 

 government might have been at on their account; he said 

 they should be given up; and remarked that they paid three 

 catties (160 ticals), for each man so delivered, and asked 

 me to give up six Cochin-Chinese, who had escaped to Maul- 

 main. I said that as I did not know their crime, I could 

 not promise their being given up, but that if he could furnish 

 me with a copy of the evidence against them and their sentence, 

 I would forward it to the Commissioner, and in the mean time 

 tell him whether I thought it likely they could be given up ; if 

 they were only run-away prisoners, it would be unreasonable to 

 expect them; several of our people came here voluntarily, we 

 did not dream of demanding them ; he said if I examined their 

 backs, I would see the marks of the ratan; I told him they 

 might have been punished for faults which was in some sort an 



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