Mission. They requested that the lette r ,o f the Burmese
Government might be opened, which was done accordingly.
T hey asked for a copy o f the original, and that a translation
o f it might be made in the o Siamese lanog uaOge.
June 12.— Th e Secretary o f the Governor-General called
to know what progress had been made in the translation.
W e informed him, that the translation demanded much
care and scrutiny, as it was an affair of great moment, and
it would take at least four or five days to finish it. He
brought an invitation to us to be present at a fête that was
to be celebrated in the palace. W e accepted this invitation
; and then, for the first time, saw his Excellency the
Governor-General, a man between fifty and sixty years of
age, o f small stature, but o f great abilities, and reputed a
good soldier. He is a native of the province o f Mitho, and
was educated as a page to the late King Gialong. He was
with him when he was a refugee in Siam. His merits soon
raised him to confidential employment and higher rank.
H e is much respected by all the officers o f the Cochin
Chinese Government, and dreaded by the Kambojans and
Siamese.
A t this fête we held a long conversation with the chief
judge respecting the King o f A va and his country, and on
the benefits that would result from an alliance between the
Burmans and Cochin Chinese.
June 18.—On the 12th, the translation o f the letter from
the Burman Court into Siamese not having proved satisfactory,
I undertook, with the assistance o f the two French
gentlemen, and a native Christian missionary, to make
translations into the French and Latin languages. These
translations were effected, and given in to-day, and with
them a Burman copy o f the original letter.
June 19.— Th e second governor gave to-day an entertainment
to the Mission. Several Kambojan chiefs were
present: these, as a mark o f peculiar favour, are now
allowed to wear the Cochin Chinese dress, and to ride in
Cochin Chinese fitte r s; but the lower orders o f the same
people must appear in their native habit, which is nearly
that o f Siam.
June 20.— A Mandarin waited on the Mission, requesting
to be allowed to take a muster of the dress and cap o f
ceremony o f the Burman Ambassadors, for the purpose
o f being transmitted as a curiosity to his Majesty at Hu£.
June 21.— Th e Mission had a visit from the First Minister
o f the King o f Kamboja, and from the Governor o f
Kamboja, a Cochin Chinese. The Kambojans, on this
occasion, expressed much dislike of the Siamese; but I
thought this dislike feigned to please the Cochin Chinese,
as I am convinced that the Kambojans are at present much
more oppressed than they were under the Siamese Government.
June 30.— The Mission was requested to appear at an
audience, for the purpose o f exhibiting the presents brought
from the King o f A v a for the King of Cochin China.
These consisted o f twenty ruby and as many sapphire-
r in g s; a gold seal and beads; and a box containing four
garments of silk cloth. The presents for the Governor-
General himself, were ten muskets with bayonets, and a
spy-glass, bought at Prince o f Wales’s Island for the purpose.
Much anxiety was expressed by the Cochin Chinese
to see the presents: his Excellency the Governor-General
asked whether the stones were real or counterfeit; and
whether, if the former, the mines were in the country of
Ava. It was explained, that the stones were real gems,
and that the mines were in the Burman territory, which
possessed besides abundant mines o f gold and silver. The
Governor-General asked whether we were in earnest when
we said the Burmese intended to make war on the Siamese ;