Kitabı oku: «The Mission to Siam, and Hué the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2», sayfa 8

A few of the presents from the Governor General, as bales of cloth and cut-glass, were placed nearly in the middle of the room, and on one side; but we neither remarked the letter from the Noble Marquis, nor did it appear that any notice whatever was taken of it on this public occasion.

With the exception of a space about twenty feet square, in front of the throne, which was kept clear, the hall was crowded with people to excess. Those of every rank, from the highest to the lowest, from the heir apparent to the throne, to the meanest slave present, had his proper place assigned to him, by which alone he was to be distinguished. The costume of all ranks was plain, neither rich nor showy.

The curtain placed before the throne was drawn aside as we entered. The whole multitude present lay prostrate on the earth, their mouths almost touching the ground; not a body or limb was observed to move, not an eye was directed towards us, not a whisper agitated the solemn and still air. It was the attitude, the silence, the solemnity of a multitude simultaneously addressing the great God of the universe, rather than the homage of even an enslaved people. Not even Rome, fertile in a race of tyrants, nor Dionysius himself, ever produced any degradation to compare with this in ignominy.

Raised about twelve feet above the floor, and about two yards behind the curtain alluded to, there was an arched niche, on which an obscure light was cast, of sufficient size to display the human body to effect, in the sitting posture. In this niche was placed the throne, projecting from the wall a few feet. Here, on our entrance, the king sat immoveable as a statue, his eyes directed forwards. He resembled in every respect an image of Buddha placed upon his throne; while the solemnity of the scene, and the attitude of devotion observed by the multitude, left little room to doubt that the temple had been the source from which the monarch of Siam had borrowed the display of regal pomp. He was dressed in a close jacket of gold tissue, on his left was placed what appeared to be a sceptre; but he wore neither crown nor other covering on the head, nor was the former emblem of the office of royalty displayed on the occasion. The throne was hung round with the same sort of cloth which formed the curtain in front, and behind it were placed two of the conical-shaped ornaments formerly mentioned; except in the quality of the cloth with which the throne was surrounded, we could observe no indication of opulence, or of magnificence. There were neither jewels, nor costly workmanship, nor precious stones, nor pearls, nor gold observable about the person of the king, his throne, or his ministers. The latter were disposed in three lines laterally, extending from the curtain in front; and thus bounded on each side the empty space at the foot of the throne, according to their respective ranks. The chief Suriwong was placed at a very respectful distance. A considerable degree of light was thrown laterally on the floor at the base of the throne, where large and elegant fans were waved by persons placed behind the curtain. This circumstance added considerable effect to the scene.

Such is a sketch of the form and appearance of Siamese royalty, displayed on our entering the hall. When we had passed the screen, and come in sight of the throne, we pulled off our hats and bowed in the European manner, the two Moormen at the same time falling prostrate, and crawling before us on the ground towards the throne. We were desired to advance in a stooping posture; a narrow space, about three feet in width, was left open in the centre for us to advance through. When we had advanced a few paces in this narrow space, being closely surrounded by the crowd of people, and distant from the throne more than half the length of the hall, all the ministers being a considerable way in front of us on either side, we were desired to seat ourselves on the carpet, in the narrow lane or space through which we had advanced, which we did in the best way we could, the two Moormen placing themselves immediately in front of the Agent to the Governor General and his Assistant, for the space would only admit of two persons sitting beside each other. Mr. R. and I, therefore, placed ourselves immediately behind the former. We now performed the salutations agreed upon, after which a voice from behind the curtain in front of the throne interrupted the silence which had hitherto prevailed, by reading in a loud tone a list of the presents which had been sent by the Governor General.

The King now addressed some questions to the Agent to the Governor General. He spoke in a firm though not a loud voice; in his person he was remarkably stout, but apparently not bloated or unwieldy; he appeared to be about sixty-five years of age. The questions were repeated by the person who had read the list of presents, and from him they were conveyed in whispers by several individuals, till they reached the Moorman, Kochai-Sahac, who, prostrate like the rest on the ground, whispered them to the Agent to the Governor General, in a tone which I could not hear, though placed immediately behind the latter. The answers to the throne were passed on in the same way. From the tenor of these questions, as related afterwards by Captain Dangerfield, it would appear that they were of a very general nature, and not particularly interesting. While these questions were passing, betel was introduced in handsome silver vessels and gold cups. The audience having lasted about twenty minutes, the King rose from his seat, and turning round to depart, the curtain was immediately drawn in front of the throne. On this all the people raised a loud shout, and turning on their knees, performed numerous salutations, touching the earth and their forehead alternately, with both hands united. The princes and ministers now assumed a sitting posture, by which, for the first time, we were enabled to observe their respective places. We left the hall of audience without further ceremony. A heavy shower of rain had fallen during the interview, and the roads leading to the different parts of the palace, at no time noted for cleanliness, were now covered with water and converted into a dirty puddle; we therefore requested to have our shoes, but in vain, for no notice whatever was taken of our request. On leaving the door of the audience-hall, a paltry Chinese umbrella, which might be purchased in the bazar for a rupee, was given to each of us. Not knowing with what view it was presented, I was about to reject it, when I was told that it was meant as a present from the King.

CHAPTER IV

White Elephants and White Monkies. – Taste of the Siamese. – Brahmans and Hinduism in Siam. – Library of the Temple. – Enormous Guns. – Trade of Siam a Royal Monopoly. – Chinese Emigrants. – Sugar. – Siamese Policy respecting Trade. – Policy of the Ultra Gangetic Nations. – An Embassy arrives from Cochin China. – Procession of Royal Barges of Siam to receive it. – Siamese Music. – Reflections on the Result of the Mission.

The Moormen, and the two men who had conducted us to the audience-hall, now conducted us through the different courts of the palace. We were still followed by a dirty, mean-looking rabble, whose impudent behaviour was from time to time checked by the two police men, our guides. The streets were remarkably dirty, so that for the greater part of the way we had to walk up to the ancle in mud and water. However, no offer was made to procure us our shoes until we had gone through the whole ceremony of seeing the strange sights of this palace, a tedious and not very gratifying ceremony, which occupied us nearly two hours. The sun had, after the shower, shone out with intense power; the stones over which we passed had in consequence been rendered very hot, and the alternate passing from these stones into the wet and puddles rendered the promenade not altogether agreeable to persons unaccustomed to walk bare-footed.

We were first conducted to the stables of the white elephants, which, being held in great veneration by the Siamese, are kept within the inner enclosure of the palace, and have habitations allotted to them quite close to those of the King himself.

Of white elephants there are at the present time no fewer than five in the possession of the King, whence we may infer that this variety is far less rare than we are accustomed to believe, at least, that is so in the further peninsula of India. It has, however, seldom happened that so many have been collected at one period, and the present is regarded as auspicious in consequence of an event so unexpected, and so much desired. A white elephant is still reckoned as beyond all value, every effort is made to take them when they are by chance discovered, and the subjects of the King can perform no more gratifying service than that of securing them. They, and indeed all elephants, are the property of the King only.

The appellation white, as applied to the elephants, must be received with some degree of limitation; the animal is in fact an occasional variety, of less frequent occurrence indeed, but in every respect analogous to what occurs in other orders of animals, and, amongst the rest, in the human species. They are, correctly speaking, Albinos, and are possessed of all the peculiarities of that abnormal production; but of these white elephants, it was remarkable that the organ of sight was to all appearance natural and sound, in no way intolerant of light, readily accommodating itself to the different degrees of light and shade, and capable of being steadily directed to objects at the will of the animal; in short, similar in all respects to that of the common elephant, with the exception of the iris, which was of a pure white colour. In this respect, they resembled all the quadrupedal albinos that I had hitherto seen, as those among horses, cows, rabbits. This circumstance I should scarce have thought worth the noticing, were it not that I shall have occasion to mention in the sequel an instance of an animal of the albino kind, possessed of the peculiar eye of the human albino. In one or two of the elephants, the colour was strictly white, and in all of them the iris was of that colour, as well as the margins of the eye-lids; in the rest, the colour had a cast of pink in it. The hairs upon the body were for the most part yellowish, but much more scanty, finer, and shorter than in other elephants; the strong hairs of the tail were darker, but still of a yellowish colour. In none did the colour and texture of the skin appear entirely healthy. In some, the cuticular texture of the legs was interspersed with glandular knobs, which gave a deformed appearance to these members. In others the skin of the body was uncommonly dry, while the natural wrinkles were unusually large, secreted an acrid-like fluid, and seemed ready to burst out into disease. These beasts were all of small size, but in excellent condition, and one of them was even handsome. They were treated with the greatest attention, each having several keepers attached to him. Fresh-cut grass was placed in abundance by their side; they stood on a small boarded platform, kept clean; a white cloth was spread before them, and while we were present they were fed with sliced sugar-cane, and bunches of plantains.

In the same place we observed rather a fine-looking elephant, but a small one, which appeared to me to be a greater object of curiosity than any of the others. This animal was covered all over with black spots, about the size of a pea, upon a white base. It is not unusual to observe a partial degree of this spotted appearance in the elephant of Bengal, as on the forehead and trunk of the animal, but in this instance the skin was entirely covered with them.

The greatest regard is entertained in Siam for the White Elephant. He who discovers one is regarded as the most fortunate of mortals. The event is of that importance, that it may be said to constitute an era in the annals of the nation. The fortunate discoverer is rewarded with a crown of silver, and with a grant of land equal in extent to the space of country at which the elephants’ cry may be heard. He and his family, to the third generation, are exempted from all sorts of servitude, and their land from taxation.

The next and only other animals that we saw here, are certainly of very rare occurrence, and objects of great curiosity. These were two White Monkies, perfect albinos in every respect. They are about the size of a small dog, furnished with a tail about as long as the body. They are thickly covered with fur, which is as white as snow, or that of the whitest rabbit. The lips, eye-lids, and feet are distinguished by the inanimate whiteness of the skin noticed in the human albino, while the general appearance of the iris, the eye, and even the countenance, the intolerance of light, the unsettled air they assumed, and the grimace they affected, afforded so many points of resemblance between them and that unhappy variety of our species, as rendered the sight disgusting and humiliating. One who had seen a perfect albino of the human species, would find it impossible to separate the impression of his appearance from that of the animals now before us. These had but little of the vivacity or mischievous disposition for which this tribe is so remarkable. All their movements, all their attitudes, had for their apparent object the lessening the effect of light and glare, towards which they always turned their backs. Their eye-brows seemed pursed up and contracted, the pupils were of a light rose-colour, the irides of a very pale cast of blue. One was very old, and had but few teeth in his head. His lips were beside remarkably thick, and apparently diseased. The other was much younger.

It did not appear that they were held in any degree of veneration by the Siamese; we learned that they were placed here from superstitious motives, with the object, as they said, of preventing evil spirits from killing the white elephants.

We next proceeded to visit a temple situated at a short distance beyond the hall of audience. The court is spacious and neat, containing, besides the temple, a handsome small building, in which their sacred books are deposited. At each of the principal gates are placed gigantic earthen images, of grotesque form, with clubs in their hands, and at each angle of the temple brass figures of a fanciful animal, somewhat resembling a lion. Besides, there were other figures made of clay, paltry in appearance and absurd in design. The temple is of a pyramidal form, highly wrought with minute figures, somewhat in the Chinese style. The character of the ornaments, like that of the paintings on the stern of a Chinese junk, is operose, unmeaning, and grotesque; yet the general effect was in the present instance not unpleasing to the spectator, who regarding it at some distance, overlooked the minuteness alluded to. I remarked that the Siamese have adopted the pyramid, generally a quadrangular one, instead of the dome, the only form in which the Bauddhists of Ceylon build the sepulchral edifice called Dagoba, the architectural characteristic of their religion. The cause of this difference, in a matter so closely interwoven with their religion, is probably to be looked for in the different genius of the nations, to which cause also we must attribute the difference observable in their respective images of Buddha himself, for to the individuals of neither people are we to look for the original exemplar of that form. The Siamese, like other tribes of the Moghul race, seem to have formed to themselves a standard of beauty, differing both from that of Europeans and of Indians. Hence the sharp, the harsh, the fanciful, the improbable, are more considered by them than the soft, the majestic, and the just in architecture. The different forms given to the Dagoba, and to their temples and palaces, would illustrate this remark. A similar taste is displayed in the decorations of their private houses, in which you look in vain for truth or nature in the representation of animal beings. A wild unchastened fancy prevails among them; hence the origin of monsters and of the grotesque figures which cover the walls of the houses of their chiefs. Yet, though monstrous, unnatural, and unmeaning, they are not altogether destitute of a certain degree of spirit and of boldness in the execution. What degree and kind of genius they may possess in music and in the arts remains to be seen. In the actual state of our knowledge, I cannot but consider the Siamese as prodigiously inferior to the rude inhabitants of the interior of Ceylon, with whom, as professing the same religion, they will admit of a comparison. In the elegant and imposing structure of the Dagoba, in the numerous figures of Buddha, whether made of earth, stone, ivory, brass, wood, silver, or gold, the latter are manifestly superior artists and architects. The Siamese would appear to excel in the number of their images, the Kandians in their quality. The Siamese temple, rich in the frippery and tinsel of a Chinaman’s toy-shop, with its three hundred images, reminds you more of children’s playthings than of the place of devotion; while the Kandian, by the skilful distribution of light and shade, and proper position of one, or, at most, of a few well-executed images, produces an effect at once solemn, majestic, and impressive.

But if this obliquity of genius, if I may so call it, be so remarkable in the matters already alluded to, it is still more so in all that is calculated to give an insight into the constitution of their mind. The people are governed by opinion, absurd and unjust, not by reason, by sense, nor by kindness. The most degrading and brutal tyranny is mistaken for well-meaning patriarchal kindness; and the oppression of the multitude, and the grinding of the many, is regarded as the will of the Deity. No man either wishes for, or aspires to, freedom of thought or of action; and tyranny has cast its roots so deep, that change would seem hopeless.

But to return to the temple. I have observed that it was of a pyramidal form, the point terminating in a slender spire, about 200 feet high. Within, the building constituted a single lofty chamber, about 50 feet long, and nearly as much in breadth, paved with stones. In the centre were placed, on irregular stages, a countless number of small figures of Buddha, intermixed with bits of looking-glass, scraps of gilded paper, and Chinese paintings. Surmounting the rest was a figure of Buddha, about a foot and a half high, in a sitting posture, made, as our guides would have us to believe, of emerald. The stone was either the Chinese figure-stone, or Heliotrope, but it was placed at too great a distance for us to be able to say exactly which. There was here nothing in the shape of an altar, nor any convenience save the floor on which to place fruit and flowers, the usual offerings made to Buddha. A number of vagrant, idle people, had followed us. They entered the temple, and behaved with a degree of noisy indecorum, which could not fail to surprise us.

Surrounding the temple, and forming its enclosure, there is a paved passage, covered in above, and supported by pillars. The walls of this passage are covered with rude paintings of allegorical subjects, chiefly taken from the story of the Ramayana, a celebrated epic poem of the Hindus. It would appear, indeed, that many of the absurdities of the Hindu religion are intermingled with that of Buddha. There are in Bankok a few Brahmans, who are entertained by the king, and have built a small temple. The Siamese cultivate a lock of hair on the forehead, which lock they preserve from birth to the age of twelve, fourteen, or sixteen, untouched. At the expiration of this period, they institute a great feast; presents are made by all the relations and friends of the family, and the occasion is rendered one of great joy. The Brahman then, sprinkling a little water on the head, and repeating certain prayers, cuts the lock. When the children of the king undergo this ceremony, an artificial hill is constructed, on which the Brahman performs the ceremony.

Close to the temple stands the pyramidal building, in which the sacred books are kept. You ascend to it by a flight of steps, covered with plates of tin, as is also the floor of the room. The books cannot be very numerous. They are contained in a pyramidal upright cupboard, richly ornamented with small pieces of mother-of-pearl.

Returning by the road we had entered, we repassed the inner and second gates of the palace, when we found ourselves in the enclosure where we had halted for some time before entering the audience-hall. The only objects worthy of remark in this place were several ridiculously and uselessly large brass guns. They must, from their size, be equally unserviceable and unmanageable. They seemed, however, to pride themselves not a little in possessing guns of such a calibre. They appeared to have been uncommonly well cast.

Having now been shewn all that was thought worthy of notice, we were reconducted to the room in which we had first halted. It was again soon filled with the rabble. A plentiful dessert of sweet-meats was introduced, and the Moorman was particularly desirous that we should partake of it. But it was impossible to overlook the mean condition of those left to entertain us, the disreputable appearance of the building, or the jeering and disrespectful conduct of the herd of spectators that crowded round us. It seemed as if the court had said, See them feed.

As we were leaving the palace, several of the chiefs were returning home at the same time, and afforded us an opportunity of observing that they used vehicles more respectable and more comfortable than those they had assigned for the use of the Agent to the Governor General. We now procured our slung hammocks, and were carried back to our boats. About one, P. M., we reached the ship.

A large quantity of sweet-meats, those which had been placed before us on our visit to the palace, was sent home after us; and, in the course of the afternoon, the chief, Suri-wong, paid the Agent to the Governor General a visit, and said that he had been desired to entertain us with a dinner. A profusion of roasted pork, goats’ flesh, ducks, fowls, &c., was then brought by his servants and laid on the table, together with a couple of decanters of a wine nearly as strong and fiery as brandy. He remained a spectator of the entertainment, but would not eat or drink with us. He conversed with more ease with us than he had hitherto done. He said we had been highly honoured, and seemed to be quite pleased with the transactions of the day. He asked many questions, and wished to be thought easy and free, but his manner was coarse and impolite to a degree quite unusual in an Asiatic. * * * * *

On reviewing the transactions of this day, and connecting them with the general conduct of the officers of the Siamese government towards the mission, from the period of our arrival in the country, it will appear that we had but little reason to be elated with success, or proud of our reception at court.

In their visits, the most petty officers arrogated a superiority which certainly did not belong to their inferior station, for some of them turned out to be low retainers of the chiefs, to whom they performed the offices of menials, and crouched on the ground before them, as we afterwards found on visiting those chiefs. The demand that the guns should be landed before we proceeded up the river, though a punctilio they readily conceded, but little stress having to all appearance been laid upon it from the commencement, shewed that nothing was beneath their notice, and we may infer from their sending a single narrow boat, capable of holding at most but three persons, on a short journey, for the accommodation of the Agent to the Governor General, that they wished to hold the mission very cheap.

After we had arrived nearly opposite to the palace, no notice whatever was taken of the ship, any more than if she had not been there, and the first communication had for its object to obtain possession of the presents sent by the Governor General. It was impossible to attribute to ignorance their affected indifference, and studied inattention to whatever related to the accommodation, the wants, or the comforts of the gentlemen of the mission. Hospitality is a virtue not altogether unknown to any nation or people; with politeness, it is much the same. Their leading features are acknowledged by all people. Nations differ only in the mode of their expression. On these points there seems no reason to believe that the Siamese are much behind their neighbours. To individuals they had often behaved with attention and kindness, and particularly so to the captains of ships and European traders. The inference therefore is, that, in the present instance, they listened to political motives only, and though the matter was of that trifling importance as scarce to deserve mention, yet, taken in conjunction with their conduct in other matters, it throws some light upon the view in which they held the present mission. Every person of rank carefully abstained from coming near us, Kochai Sahac, being the channel of reference to the chief Suri-Wong Montree, who is not among the persons of the highest rank, but only acting⁶ Barkalan, the chief, whose office this is, being either too old, or otherwise incapable of attending to his duties. Our introduction to the king, and the particular place assigned to the mission, at the audience, and other circumstances before alluded to, require no comment. The court in granting a public audience had displayed its power, and perhaps its riches, motives of themselves sufficient to induce a government supported chiefly by appearances, to grant such audience. It is known that the king receives envoys from other potentates in a very different manner, with ceremony, with pomp, wearing his crown at the audience. It was evident therefore that they affected to treat the mission from the Governor General of Bengal as of inferior consequence, and that they meant to consider it in the light of a deputation from the governor of a province, such deputations being common amongst the neighbouring powers. This matter was placed beyond a doubt some days afterwards, the moorman Kochai stating that the mission had been received by the king as a deputation from a provincial government.

Seeing that no notice whatever was taken, nor even mention made, of the letter from the Governor General at our public presentation, we could no longer entertain doubts as to the idea which they wished to impress upon the public mind respecting the importance of the government of Bengal. We, however, had abundant reason to believe that well-informed persons about the government were not ignorant of the vast power, the extensive dominion, the unparalleled equity of that government.

The presents from the Governor General were laid out before us in the hall, and a crier read in a loud voice a list of them, a circumstance also open to suspicion, particularly as the interpreters to the mission were not permitted to be present, or even to pass the inner gate of the palace. Under such circumstances it appeared that they might represent our word presents in whatever light was most flattering to their pride, their vanity, or their crooked policy.

With respect to the actual objects of the mission, the proposals were so moderate, so obviously of mutual advantage, that, from all we could yet learn, the government would be as anxious to confer them as ours to receive them.

The encouragement given to the Chinese traders and labourers, and the limited adventures of the king and some of the principal men about him, had given them a foretaste of the advantages of commerce, which they were now very anxious to improve. They were becoming sensible of the errors created by their cupidity, in imposing innumerable and vexatious duties. Blind to their real interests, as well as ignorant of the practice of commerce, the king and his ministers still continue to be the sole merchants, retaining in their own hands the monopoly of all articles of consequence, and holding it contraband for any others to intermeddle. They have yet to learn that it is possible to fill the treasury with less risk, less trouble, and more credit, from the industry and fair profits of their subjects; and hence King Chau-chee-veet, “the Lord of Life,” continues to be the first trader in his kingdom.

It is to the Chinese nation that they are indebted for whatever knowledge they possess of the advantages of commercial intercourse. In defiance of the laws of the celestial empire, there would appear to be scarcely any limit to the extent of emigration from that great empire. Her subjects are the best and most industrious part of the population of the surrounding nations, over whom their industry, their superior intelligence, and knowledge of the arts, have given them a great and decided superiority. Siam, a country sunk under the most debasing tyranny, destitute alike of arts and commerce, offered a fair field for the developement of their superiority. Fear had long opposed obstacles to the increase of the Chinese, till at length the government either from conscious incapacity of restraining them longer, or from motives of a different nature, has at length given them the most unbounded encouragement, and granted them privileges which render their condition infinitely preferable to that of the natives of the country. On the other hand the benefits which the Chinese emigrants have conferred upon this rude nation, are of obvious and striking utility, and of no ordinary importance. They have sown the seeds of commercial enterprise. They have created commerce where none previously existed, and with their hands they have, as it were, called into existence some of the more valuable objects of commerce. Scarce twenty years have elapsed since the first sugar canes were planted in this kingdom. The annual produce in sugar, at the present time, is stated to amount to 30,000 peculs, of 133½ lbs. each, or 1788 tons. This constitutes, in fact, the most valuable commercial article of the realm. The culture is managed solely by the Chinese, and it is the opinion of the chief Suri-Wong, that it may be carried to an almost unlimited extent. Such being the nature of the advantages derived from the unremitting industry of the Chinese, it is not to be wondered at, if that people should enjoy privileges denied to European and other nations. Chinese traders are accordingly subjected to less vexatious proceedings in their commercial transactions, and are even allowed to purchase the principal commodities at a lower rate of duty than other nations, the difference in the article of sugar amounting to fifty per cent. less than the general rate.