THE REVOLUTION OF 1760.
Before narrating the events of the revolution which, in 1760, threw
the Kingdom of Siam into confusion, we ought to give a summary of the
succession to the throne.
The heir of Pitracha had several sons and as he was displeased with
the eldest, he nominated the second as heir to the throne. This man
showed that he was really worthy of the crown by his refusal to accept
the succession to the detriment of his elder brother. He only made one
condition and that was in case the elder were to predecease him, the
succession should devolve on himself. This condition was accepted. The
elder received the heritage of his father and the younger was declared
Crown Prince, that is to say heir-presumptive to the throne.
The new King had several children and misled by parental affection,
showed none of that generous nature of which his brother had given so
noble an example.
Faithless to his promises he nominated his eldest son who had entered
the priesthood, as his successor. The young Prince a respecter of
promises made, had no wish to be a party to the perjury committed by
his father. He preferred the simplicity of the monastery to the
splendour of the Court, which he could only enjoy by desecrating the
memory of his father.
The King seeing him persist in his refusal appointed in 1733 his
second son to be his successor and died shortly afterwards of a cancer
in the throat.
The brother of the dead King was known as the Crown Prince, and the
Siamese were accustomed to look upon him as their future ruler. Five
thousand soldiers whom he kept in his palace, were ready to devote
their lives in support of his rights.
His nephew relying on his father's will, had collected a force of
40,000 men in the Royal palace so as to overawe his rival. He had been
careful to win the four chief officials of the State over to his side
and having charge of the Treasury, it was a simple matter to purchase
adherents. All the common people were in the power of the officials
who all hoped to extend their authority over a young and inexperienced
ruler, who would be obliged to put the burden of state affairs on
their shoulders.
The union of the nobility under the flag of the young Prince, seemed
to indicate that his cause would be successful, but in reality it was
the cause of his downfall, owing to internal jealousies as to who
should be leader. The higher officials thought that the Barcalon,
misusing his almost unlimited power, wished to use them as tools for
his personal aggrandisement.
They appeared to fear that after having been sufficiently powerful to
hold the Crown Prince in subjection, he would yield to the temptation
of taking the crown for himself.
It seemed more fit that they should obey their old masters rather than
to see themselves reduced to ask favours of an equal, and thus all
plotted secretly to destroy their work.
War broke out between the two rival Princes. The disturbance was
aggravated by the party feeling of the mob. Shots were exchanged
between the two palaces. The frightened inhabitants awaited death in
their houses and the whole town would have been reduced to a heap of
ruins had the gunners been good marksmen.
The Barcalon, full of confidence, resolved to risk a decisive
engagement, having the lesser palace as its objective.
A hand to hand conflict occurred, and the Crown Prince's forces were
routed and pursued to his own palace wall. The conquerors took counsel
as to practicability of carrying the palace by storm. The Barcalon and
his friends voted for the proposition, but one of the chief leaders
said that as it was nearly dark, it would be better to defer the
attack till the next day alleging that by so doing fewer lives would
be endangered than if a night attack were to be attempted.
His advice was taken and the assault was deferred. The Crown Prince,
being informed by spies of all that passed in the camp of the enemy,
took advantage of the sense of security inspired by an initial success
and convinced that the advantage lies with the attacking force, made a
sortie against the forces near the foot of the palace walls. The
darkness increased the fear inspired by this attack.
The besieged, taken by surprise and being defenceless, allowed
themselves to be slaughtered like brute beasts. Others took flight,
and casting away their weapons, were pursued to the walls of the grand
palace. The King sent reinforcements to act as a barrier against the
host ready to devour him. The lawless and rebellious soldiery
renounced their allegiance and instead of obeying his orders deserted
to his uncle.
Seeing that he was betrayed and deserted by his adherents, he put all
his trust in the Malays whom he employed, and having encouraged them
with magnificent gifts and by hopes of great rewards, they left the
palace with proud and haughty expressions which seemed to bear witness
to their zeal and to be an earnest of victory. But hardly had these
mercenaries left the palace behind when they gave an example of the
greatest infidelity, or of meanness of character.
These strangers, loaded with gifts, deserted the flag of their
benefactor. Some retired to their own country to enjoy the fruits of
their treason, and, others baser still, enrolled themselves under the
banner of those against whom they had promised to fight.
The Barcalon and the Chakkri, standing on the high walls of the
palace, were the sad witnesses of the desertion. Fearing for their
safety they disappeared on the pretext of going to issue some orders.
The other officers, not seeing them return, scattered to find some
refuge where they would be secure against the anger of the conqueror.
The King remained alone with his two brothers awaiting his end. The
elder brother retired into his monastery, where he deplored the
disturbed state of affairs of which he was neither the author, nor an
accessary. The other two, forsaken by their mercenary followers,
escaped with some servants in a boat and managed to carry off a large
sum of money as well.
As soon as the Crown Prince had been informed that the Royal palace
had been abandoned, he ordered his men to take possession. Several
princes of the Royal family had shut themselves up in the palace as in
some sanctuary. They were loaded with chains and were made to suffer
all manner of tortures invented by the cunning of revenge and after
all their property had been confiscated, they had no hope left but
death.
This civil war caused considerable bloodshed, but more perished by the
sword of the executioner than on the battlefield.
The new King, on his accession to the throne, gave an example of the
greatest clemency which dulled the remembrance that the slaughter of
his subjects had been the cause of his success.
He offered the crown to the eldest of his nephews, but in vain.
This latter, a religious prince, resolved to die in the priesthood, as
he ultimately did. The King was sure that his position was insecure as
long as the two fugitive princes were not in his power. The old
officials wandered about the kingdom and stirred up civil strife.
The Chakkri and the Barcalon had the temerity to appear in the
capital, dressed as priests. They thought to escape punishment by
appearing in a dress that was respected.
The King, in order not to commit any outrage against the priesthood,
arranged that they should be arrested by the Chief priest. They
appeared before a tribunal where they were subjected to a searching
cross-examination. Their cunning replies were unanswerable.
They pleaded that they had been carrying out the King's orders and
that they had been pledged to serve him absolutely.
By this excuse they were enabled to escape, the terrible punishment
which had been prepared for them.
It had been determined that they should be hung up with hooks by the
chin until they expired. The idea was that their punishment should
resemble the fate of fishes, as being keen anglers they had caused the
death of many fish, a heinous offence to the Siamese who have scruples
against fishing.
As the judges found no evidence on which to convict them, the King
sought other methods by which he might undo them. He took counsel with
the ministers and the legal luminaries of the kingdom, who, after
examining the charges on which they had been arraigned, replied, that
far from being culpable they were worthy of the highest rewards. The
verdict was remarkable, coming from the mouth of judges who trembled
under the sceptre of a despot, a single word from whom could degrade
or destroy them.
The despot himself announced that "A citizen is not guilty in carrying
out the orders of his superiors."
He ordered that the accused should be instantly released, and as if
wishing to honour their fidelity, he appointed them to the control of
the two chief temples in the city where they hoped to lead a peaceful
existence in the obscurity which is the only protection of a citizen
against the violence of arbitrary power.
But hardly were they installed in their retreat, when, towards
midnight, five or six Malays came to demand them in the King's name.
They guessed that sentence of death had just been passed on them. The
Barcalon, indifferent to his fate, showed that life no longer appealed
to him and far from being terrified, reproached the Chakkri for his
weakness and cowardice.
He told him that he must bow to the inevitable. When they were outside
the temple, they were stripped of their priestly robes and were given
a loin-cloth. The Barcalon beheld the instruments of death without
betraying the slightest emotion and presented his breast to the dagger
of the executioner and died, pierced by a single stroke. The Chakkri,
on the contrary, tried to defend himself, and received many wounds
before he was finally disposed of. Their bodies were taken away and
impaled and exhibited to the public eye as an example of the vengeance
of the King.
The two princes who had escaped, were a continual source of trouble.
For a long time they managed to evade their pursuers; and means were
taken to prevent them from escaping to some neighbouring country where
they might have been able to stir up a rebellion. They remained hidden
in a rice field, and were soon deserted by all their servants except
one who remained faithful.
This faithful attendant used to go to forage for them. They passed a
month in this way exposed to the weather; a prey to their needs and to
fear.
At last the servant was recognised in a public place where he was wont
to make purchases for his unhappy masters. Several persons identified
him as having escaped with them, and that as he had been their
companion in flight, he ought to know their hiding place. The secret
was wrested from him by torture.
The Princes were captured and confined in the palace dungeons. From
that moment knew that death would soon be their portion and that their
uncle would never pardon them as they were the sons of his enemy. They
were put to the question, and in their answers they showed more
firmness than would have been expected from their youth. Sentence had
preceded trial and hence they were unanimously condemned to death.
The younger had designed some dresses for a theatrical performance
which he had desired to be performed. He asked that, before his death,
he might be allowed to see them. This showed that he was childish, or,
rather frivolous. The Queen, in vain begged that their request might
be granted. The King replied that they had been born with desires that
would one day be fatal to the State. These Princes whose fate should
have excited compassion were not regretted in the least. It was
generally known that their tastes were depraved. It was not by their
death that the Crown Prince really became King. He gave his whole
heart to his nephew, who had refused the crown that the Siamese had
wished to offer him.
The King's predilection excited the jealousy of his eldest son who
made a plot to assassinate their cousin, and a day was arranged for
the execution of this wicked design.
The Prince had gone to pay his respects to the King and was attended
by his cousins who by certain gestures gave him an inkling of the plot
against his life. He became frightened and fell at the King's feet who
being informed of the plot, made enquiries into the truth of it. The
second and third of his sons were convicted of being the authors of
the barbarous idea. This father, horror stricken, summoned them fore
him and pronounced such dreadful punishments against them that, in
order to clear themselves, they protested that their elder brother had
led them into crime. The father was deeply grieved on learning that
his dearest son had been the most guilty. He summoned him to his
presence and made him lie on the ground to receive his punishment. The
Priest-prince, witness of the terrible scene, of which he was the
innocent author, thought of what the consequence might be, of a
punishment inflicted on one who might one day be his master. He
prostrated himself on the body of the guilty and cried out. "Father,
order that I receive the beating rather than your son". The King was a
father and was soon turned from his purpose by his feelings. His wrath
merely found vent in threats against his guilty son, who, to become
reconciled with the priest-prince, entered the same monastery; but in
the shadows of his retreat he enjoyed all the sweets of power. The
chief officers of state and the people continued to regard him as the
heir-presumptive to the crown. As it happened, he left the priesthood
in 1740 and his father declared him his successor. Henceforth he lived
in the palace which was appointed for Crown princes, but was quite
unworthy of his father's choice. His vices drew upon him the hatred of
his father in 1756. He was accused by his bastard brother of having
defiled his father's bed, and was summarily sentenced to imprisonment
for life. There remained but two legitimate sons to the King whom he
had had by the late Queen.
The elder had sunk into the lowest depths of debauchery, which was
sufficient reason against his succession to the throne, so much the
more so as he was afflicted with a loathsome disease. The younger was
preferred to him, he was called Chaoual Padou, that is to say, Lord of
the Temple. This prince, brought up from his earliest years among the
priests was permeated with the poison of error. A zealous champion of
the foolish religion of his country, he was beloved by the nation who
saw their superstitions ennobled by so illustrious an example. A
stickler for justice, he punished fraud and theft with severity. His
good qualities were universally recognised by all from the Crown
Prince downwards. His marriage which occurred shortly after his
accession, was regarded as a token of the prosperity of the State. His
father bent by age died in 1748 aged 80 years. Chaoual Padou was soon
recognised by all the officials of the State. Some of his bastard
brothers attempted to stir up civil strife, but they did not escape
punishment. They were cast into prison where they died of neglect.
Peace reigned in the Kingdom after their death, and the people gave
him no cause for anxiety.
But his brother whom he rashly had recalled to court favour, was a
cause of scandal. He bitterly criticised the government and behaved as
a ruler, rather than as a subject and to lighten the disgrace of his
degradation, he managed to place himself at the right hand of the King
too modest and too weak to punish him.
At last the King being no longer able to tolerate his imperious
behaviour, resolved to abdicate a crown the burden of which had become
insupportable, and to retire to the seclusion of monastic life. For a
second time he donned the robes of a priest and shut himself up with
about a thousand idolatrous priests whom he endeavoured to surpass in
pseudo-science and in the art of fortelling the future. He sought a
secret means by which to render himself invisible and immortal by the
use of mercury of which he took so large a dose that all his teeth
fell out. Devoting his whole time to futile researches, he became
quite indifferent to affairs of State and had no other relaxation than
to pore over lying records and to extract therefrom stories fit merely
for the credulity of fools.
While he was living in seclusion in his country, the enemy carried
fear and destruction to the gates of the capital.
The King, who knew nothing of statecraft or of war, was powerless to
avert the storm. The Princes and nobles went in a body to the temple
of Chaoual Padou and begged him to take up the reins of the stricken
Empire. He acceded to their wishes and his brother, laying aside his
pride as there was no time for concealing his weakness and incapacity,
handed over the sceptre that he could wield no longer and invited him
to re-ascend the throne. He yielded to the pressure brought to bear on
him from so many quarters and sacrificed his own inclinations for a
quiet life.
But before entering into the details of the revolution we ought to
give some account of the strength and situation of the people who were
to be their adversaries.
In 1754 the Burmese, the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ava had been in
subjection to the Peguans for five years. They had seen the death of
their King, their Queen and the majority of the Royal family. The
memory of their past misfortunes and the present reality of their
servitude, and degradation caused them to yearn for a deliverer. They
did not seek one among those enervated by the luxury of court life or
those who in the pride of their usurped titles measured their
capabilities by their ambition.
Their eyes were turned to one of their fellow-countrymen Manlong by
name, a gardener by profession who though physically compelled to
labour of a humble description, had the bravery and heart of a hero.
With one voice all united in begging him to accept the crown so as to
free them from the yoke of their tyrants. "Yes" replied this
extraordinary man! "I agree to become your King, but first of all I
wish to find out whether you are worthy of having such a leader as I!
I command you to go and cut off the heads of all those petty
oppressors whom the Peguans have set over you."
All answered, "If that is all you want us to do, you shall be obeyed
speedily," and forthwith they departed to slay all the military and
judicial officers whom their tyrants had placed in authority over
them. Soon they returned to their hero, their hands streaming with the
gore of their oppressors and proclaimed him King without a dissentient
voice.
The new King distributed arms to his subjects. He taught them to ride
and to shoot as he himself was a good horseman and a dead shot. His
musketeers were ordered to fire on any one who had the cowardice to
retreat either in siege operations or in actual battle. This new
discipline was rigorously observed. The Burmese became invincible and
dominated Pegu. A Peguan commander who had retreated with his army
into a forest, on learning that the Burmese army had returned to Ava,
took advantage of their absence to recapture Siriam, a seaport town of
Pegu. He captured a ship which he at once fitted out and departed
early in 1759 for Pondicherry on the Coromandel coast.
At the same time he wrote to the governor of the French stations in
the East Indies to whom he sent valuable gifts in the hope of
obtaining guns and military stores.
The ship was unable to reach the Coromandel coast; contrary winds
rendered it necessary to anchor at Mergui a seaport of Siam. The
Burmese army returned to Siriam three days after the departure of the
ship. The King, who was in command wished to give an example of
severity to the people. The town was utterly sacked and at the mere
sound of their approach the Peguans and their leader fled to the
forests.
The Governor of Tavoy, a Peguan city close at hand had established
himself as an independent ruler. The Burmese King advanced to
Martaban, a town close to Tavoy, and demanded the governor to
surrender. The governor was too weak to offer any resistance and
therefore complied. But his submission availed him nothing, for as
soon as the King arrived, his head was cut off. It was here, that the
King hearing about the richness of Siam conceived the idea of
attempting its conquest, but wishing to have a valid excuse for his
greed, he demanded that they should restore the ship that had been
seized at Siriam from whence it had been brought to Mergui. The
Siamese court having been informed that the ship was bound for
Pondicherry ordered that the ship should continue the voyage in order
to maintain the friendly relations existing between the Siamese court
and the French stations.
This refusal was the cause of a war in which many lives were lost.
The Burmese King, having seized all the shipping and wealth of the
country, made Tavoy his headquarters. He sent out an expedition of 30
vessels to reduce and burn the town of Mergui and to take similar
action against Tenasserim, the chief town of a province of the same
name.
At the approach of the fleet, the inhabitants of Mergui fled and the
town, previously so full of inhabitants, was left deserted.
M. M. Andrien and Lefebvre, French missionaries, seeing before them a
prospect of danger and useless suffering, embarked with their converts
in two ships of which one was a French vessel and the other was the
very ship to which the King of Ava laid claim. The fugitive
inhabitants, after aimless wanderings sought refuge in the forests and
in desert islands.
The King of Ava, surprised at the fear inspired by his name and
forces, was quite sure that the conquest of Siam would be an easy
matter. The fact of a whole province having been subdued by his little
fleet, gave him to hope that there would be no obstacle to the success
of his united forces. He visited Tavoy in person, being the place at
which the different sections of his army had been ordered to assemble.
As soon as the Siamese court had been informed that the Burmese had
invaded the country, the Barcalon sent to the Bishop of Tabraca
ordering that Christians should be called upon for military service.
The Bishop replied that he would willingly send all those whom he
believed were physically able to defend their King and country. He
summoned his converts at once pointed out the danger by which the
country was threatened, and exhorted them by the sacred ties of King
and fatherland. The flock, obedient to the voice of the shepherd,
remembered that the God of Peace whom they served was likewise the God
of Battles. More than one hundred took up arms for the common defence.
This levy, though so small in numbers was sufficient to give examples
of courage to the others.
The Priest King who had just come to the throne was without resources
to carry on a successful struggle against so warlike a foe. He knew
the weakness of his subjects only too well not to put his trust in
them.
His arsenals were well furnished with arms and ammunition, but he
lacked men to make good use of them. He commanded a timid and
undisciplined mob, equally incapable of attack or defence, who had
been pressed into service to meet the urgency of the situation, and
who trembled at the sound of firearms. A fair-sized army of this
character had been collected but was of no use against an enemy.
These miserable cowards threw down their arms on the approach of the
Burmese, and, conquered without striking a blow, fled to the capital
which was thus overcrowded with useless mouths. The Christians acted
in quite a different manner and behaved heroically to a man. The King
seeing their bravery, entrusted to them the guardianship of the palace
and the city walls, but they were too few to present an unbroken front
to the swarms of the enemy who were overrunning the country. They had
left their homes defenceless, and, placing duty before the safety of
their own possessions, they had left them to the greed of an enemy to
whom plunder was the main object.
The hour of the downfall of Siam was not yet come. The Burmese King
was but three days march from the capital when he was attacked by a
fatal illness. Thinking less of his sickness than of the obstacle that
had checked his victorious progress, he summoned certain Europeans
serving in his army to his bedside. He asked them in what time they
could gain possession of the city. They replied that it could be done
in three days, "Go quickly" answered the King, "and make this rich
conquest and if fortune does not bear out your valour come back to me
at once."
The army started. All the outlying villages were burnt, and even the
suburbs of the capital were included in the devastated area. The
Christian quarter alone was respected, as the Burmese warned of their
valour, had not the courage to attack men so freed from earthly ties
that they feared not death. Some of the Christians, who had not
followed the example of flight set by the others, shot two of the
enemy from the seminary, and this brave defence was the salvation of
all The terrified Burmese had no longer any desire to attack them. The
Dutch quarter was reduced to ashes and only the warehouse known to
contain valuable merchandise was spared.
While the town was threatened, the outlying districts were ravaged
with fire and sword, and the inhabitants, loaded with fetters, were
led into captivity. The children too weak to share their sufferings
were the unhappy witnesses of tortures inflicted on their parents.
Several children were put to the torture to make them reveal the
hiding places of their parents' wealth. On information extorted by
violence these pitiless creatures massacred unfortunate individuals
without mercy who could only reproach themselves with not being rich
enough to satisfy the greed of their executioners. The chief priests
who were suspected of having concealed vast wealth, were repeatedly
roasted on gridirons until they had confessed where their treasures
were hidden.
Women were bound above the ankles so tightly that the cords cut into
the flesh. Their inexorable tormentors made them answer questions by
striking them with the flat of a sword, and even the cries and
lamentations of the children whom they compelled to witness their
cruelties could awake no compassion in their stony hearts.
The men received still harsher treatment. Their ankles were bound in
the same way as those of the women, and, to add to their miseries
their arms were tied behind their backs so that the elbows touched. It
seemed in their wretched plight that their bowels were about to gush
out. So severe were the agonies caused in the joints, that the victims
swooned in many cases.
While these sad scenes were being enacted in the Provinces, the
capital of Siam was attacked with vigour. But the enemy, after several
futile assaults, were obliged to give up their task; and, taking
advantage of the darkness to conceal the shame of their retreat, made
the same signals as before; in order that the Siamese might still
believe they remained near the walls. The news of the death of Burmese
monarch caused them to renounce the hopes of conquest. The youngest of
his sons was proclaimed King. He needed the army to strengthen his
authority and to put down malcontents. The troops were ordered to
evacuate Siam and never was a retreat more hurriedly beaten.
The Siamese, free from the yoke of foreign oppression, reoccupied
their former possessions. Having suffered by experience, they ought to
have taken steps to prevent a fresh invasion. The Dutch, established
in the kingdom, could have provided them with artillerymen as there
were many stationed at Batavia in the island of Java. But the Siamese
unmindful of danger, and arrogant though cowardly, considered that it
would be derogatory to their dignity to implore the help of a foreign
nation to teach them lessons.
The high opinion which this nation held of itself, gave rise to the
idea that the native Christians would form an impregnable barrier
against foreign invasion.
The examples of bravery they had shown, caused them to be regarded as
so many heroes to whom the common defence might be entrusted.
The French church was called the Church of Victory, and in gratitude
for services rendered, presents were given of suitable garments to the
Bishop, the priests and the converts. All the Christians who had
assisted in the defence of their country received a gift of money and
eight of them who had shown the greatest bravery in face of the
dangers undergone, were promoted to the highest positions in the army.
The Siamese had no less confidence in their wisdom than they had had
in their bravery. They were consulted as to what measures should be
taken for national defence. These men full of zeal, showed that if
they knew how to fight for their country, still more did they know how
to advance the cause of their God.
They pointed out that, as during the war the temples had afforded
shelter to the Burmese, they were of opinion it would be advantageous
to destroy all the temples round the town, so much the more so, that
in case of a new invasion it would be impossible to preserve them.
The elder brother of the King agreed with this proposition but the
other Princes and all the priests regarded it as an act of sacrilege.
The King joined the latter party as his inclinations were all in the
direction of his former station in life and even in the brilliancy of
court functions, sighed in secret for the solitude of the temples.
A zealot for the religion of his country he showed that he was jealous
of the praises showered upon the Bishop of Tabraca, who, was regarded
as a heavenly messenger sent to reform their morals. The respect given
to the worshipper and minister of a foreign God appeared to the
Monarch to be a slight on the national religion.
He commanded that European titles only should be used as honorable
appellations in his his case, and to suppress all Siamese words by
which respect and greatness were indicated.
The order was by no means universally obeyed. The nobility and the
people never ceased showing forth their regard for the Bishop and
continued to load him with titles which he preferred to deserve rather
than to receive.
This enmity engendered by jealousy would not have been productive of
evil results as the Prince was weak rather than evil-minded. It seemed
that peace would continue, but soon the State was plunged into a new
commotion. The King pronounced sentence of death against a favourite
of his brother's who was suspected of having carried on treasonable
correspondence with the enemy. This decree was regarded as an abuse of
his authority. The people demanded that account should be rendered of
the blood shed on slight grounds of suspicion. A general discontent
made the King re-enter the priesthood, and he appeared to abdicate the
throne with more pleasure than he had ascended it. His elder brother
became King, and the position which he thus occupied, showed up his
vices and follies to the full light of day.
In May 1762 the Prince resigned the crown in favour of the priesthood.
A great number of Siamese followed his example. The State was burdened
with an excess of useless citizens who kept aloof from those they
ought to have served. Sorcery and magic were the principal topics of
conversation, everyone had formulae for the compounding of love
philters for immoral purposes, and the secret of rendering the person
invisible for the purpose of robbery and assassination without fear of
punishment, was the universal object of research.
The priests who had become more haughty since the King had entered
their order, demanded that they should receive divine honours. The
ignorant populace wasted their substance in their support, and kept
them in idleness. These holy ministers, naturally poor, found abundant
means of livelihood in the folly of the vulgar, an inexhaustible ever
ready source of supplies for the use of impostors. Not even was their
moral character an object of respect. They frequently gave rise to
many scandalous scenes and, immune from punishment, they would not
even cast a veil over the filthy pleasures to which they were
addicted. By greed and cunning they obtained possession of everything
that could not be appropriated by force.
The reigning King gave precedent for these irregularities by his
example.
Unbridled in his lusts, and shameless in his actions he had no other
rule of conduct than his own sweet will; and in the intoxication of
his brutal passions, had the folly to marry his father's sister
openly. The nobility too feeble and too cowardly to attempt to reform
the abuses, preferred to follow the example of the tyrant rather than
to fall as victims.
The officials, brutalised by the debauchery into which they had sunk
to please their master, knew neither how to foresee nor to fear coming
troubles.
Their security was founded on the report that the Burmese King, a
warlike and restless Prince, had been dethroned on his return to Ava,
and that his elder brother was content to govern his own people and
had no ambition for foreign aggression.
A peaceful règime seemed necessary to him to ensure his rule over a
turbulent race, and his efforts were directed towards the maintenance
of peace and to the civilization of his people. He was highly
indignant with those who had advised his father to attempt the
invasion of Siam, that had cost the nation so many valuable lives,
more precious than all the spoil they had carried off.
Such peaceable tendencies promised a spell of unbroken peace to the
neighbouring Kingdoms, but the appointed hour struck for the
punishment of a people sunk in slumber and debauchery. The
peace-loving King died suddenly, and his successor a man of great
ambition and, feeling too cramped in his own territories, was the rod
by which God struck the Siamese.