1838.] Excursions to the Eastward. 607 



squatted with their legs tucked under them. The musketeers with 

 their muskets held up in front the butt resting on the ground ; the 

 others with their swords sloped. 



Shortly after the arrival of this youthful diplomatist I proceeded to 

 visit him. The escort drew up in front of the hall with ordered arms, 

 and after exchanging my bow with the Bootha I sat down in a chair 

 which his people had purposely brought. The principal men who had 

 come with him to negociate for him occupied chairs on my right and 

 left. Bootha was richly dressed in a fully embroidered satin or silk pha 

 yok. This article of dress closely resembles the Malayan sarong and 

 it is worn either with or without trousers underneath it. Upwards 

 from the waist his body was naked with the exception of several massive 

 gold chains, which with their pendent jewels, seemed almost to weigh 

 him down ; he wore handsome golden bracelets and anklets, and he 

 had many valuable diamond and other kinds of rings on his fingers. The 

 crown of his shaven head was surmounted by a skull cap of gold fila- 

 gree of handsome workmanship. This covering is called mongkoot 

 which is a Bali word signifying a crown, and which is applied in histo- 

 rical works to denote a diadem. 



So impatient was the boy to see the sepoys perform their exercise, 

 that despite his council of grave men, and before other business 

 could be begun his curiosity required to be satisfied. The crouching 

 troops of the Ligorian had thus an opportunity of witnessing, and with 

 manifest surprise, the precision which discipline bestows. It is doubt- 

 ful if a Siamese soldier can hold himself erect. A slavish submission 

 to their rulers has physically affected the whole of the male population, 

 and a slinking, slouching gait is their most prominent outward charac- 

 teristic. 



After the conference I presented the youth with a few articles of 

 British manufacture and two globes, (celestrial and terrestrial.) He 

 was very desirous to learn the use of these last, but there was no time 

 for this operation. The Siamese are pretty expert according to their 

 own fashion at map-making, although their geographical ideas do not 

 wander far to the south or west of Siam. Some of their plans may 

 be reduced to some degree of consistency and precision by adapting a 

 scale of time to them, as the Siamese carefully note the time occupied 

 in travelling from place to place. 



After the conference Bootha shook me warmly by the hand, and 

 took his departure in the same order as he had arrived. 



It is needless here to enter into a detail of the conferences which took 

 place. It was proved that the Ligorian would not adventure on his 

 own responsibility to side with the British against the Burmese, and as 

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