r

Hamilton’s account of the east indies. 469

The King of France complimented Mr. Falcon with the order of Knighthood , andin his letter to him, wherein he recommended the French affairs to his care, parti-cularly that of religion, he ftyled him loving coufm and counfeller.

After the embaffy was gone from Siam to France , the Jefuits thought of nothingbut bringing the trade of Siam under the power of the French , and in order to that,got the King to order the building of a fort on the river’s fide, oppofite to the fort ofBencock, a town about 20 leagues below the city of Siam , and to have it mannedwith a garrifon of French, to be paid by the exchequer of Siam , and all this wasgranted according to their mind.

The fort is a regular tetragon, and can mount about 80 great guns. When theFrench got pofieffion they grew intolerably arrogant, which made the Siamers uneafy,and murmured at the King’s weaknefs, but that was in private; for certain deftruc-tion is the fure reward of talking publicly of any mifmanagement of the ftate, for aKing of Siam can no more err in politics, than a pope can in matters of faith.

Yet about the year 1688, by fome malevolent planet that over-ruled his actions, hemade a war with his neighbours the Kings of Cambodia, and Couchin-China . He fentan army by land, and a fleet by fea, to carry on the war, but was not fuccefsful byland. However in the land-army there was a mean perfon, a citizen of Siam , whokept a fruit-fhop ; he had a bold daring fpirit, and behaved himfelf fo well on all oc-cafions, in the land war, that he came to preferment, and at laft was made generalif-fimo, and then ended the war to the fatisfa&ion of the whole army abroad, and hisprince at home ; but when he brought back the army to Siam , feeing the King wraptup in the opinion he had of the Jeluits counfels, and the management they had in theaffairs of ftate, by the countenance of the King and his firft minifter my Lord Falcon,he picked a quarrel with the King, and having moil of the army at his devotion, feizedhis mafter and put him to death, after the manner of royal criminals, or as princes ofof the blood are treated when convicted of capital crimes, which is, by putting theminto a large iron caldron, and pounding them to pieces with wooden peftles, becaufenone of their royal blood mull be fpilt on the ground, it being, by their religion,thought great impiety to contaminate the divine blood, by mixing it with earth. Andafter he had murdered his mafter, he fummoned all the Mandarines in the city, tohold a council in the palace.

My Lord Falcon, for that was generally his defignation, had, by his civil deport-ment towards people of all ranks and degrees, fo ingratiated himfelf, that he had aftronger party by far, both in the city and country, than the general; and befides,had all the fleet at his devotion. Many of my Lord’s friends diffuaded him fromobeying the fummons, but to raife the forces of the city, and revenge the death of theKing, and many officers of the army that detefted the regicide would have come overto his party, which at leaft was above 50,000 ftrong, but being infatuate, he was deafto all good advice, and went to the palace, where as foon as he had fet his foot, hewas feized by the general’s guards, and beheaded ; fo the ufurper took the fovereigntyinto his own hands, and at that inftant was by jure divino made an infalliblefavourite of heaven, and the fun, moon, and ftars, had the honour to be his nearrelations.

Had my Lord Falcon followed his friends advice, or had courage anfwerable to hisother good qualities, he had certainly been honoured with the diadem in Siam , and ifhe had introduced popery in the place of paganifm, he had been honoured with aplace in the pope’s almanack, but his pufillanimity made him unworthy of both.

, I had