IN the past Month, when his Majesty with the whole Court were retired to the Summer Pallace of the Levo; the Macassers (who you know are Seated below the Portugueze Camp) Conspired to have burnt the City, Seized and Plundered the Pallace, Destroyed the King, and turned all Topsey-Turvy, had not the faint-heartedness of some few of the Conspira­tors given vent to the Plot, about six hours before the designed time of their beginning to put it in Execution, which discovery, how late soever, came yet time enough to prevent the attempt for that time, the Vigilance of the Guards, rendring it unfeazeable; The King on notice hereof dispatcht the Lord Phaul­kon (who is Lord President of his Privy-Councell) from Court, to the Pal­lace of Siam, to examine and take cognizance of the matter, on whose arrival there, a Party to the number of about Two hundred surrender'd themselves to the Kings Mercy, and were sent up to Levo, where some of them were not­withstanding found worthy of Death: another Party to the number of fifty headed by a designing and daring fellow, whom they had made their Cap­tain, [Page 2]pretended to be wholly ignorant of the Plot and with all earnestness, sued for Liberty to depart the Kingdom, in a Vessel of their own which was in a readiness to transport them: To which, his Lordship, willing to have the Country ridd of such dangerous Male-Contents, by any way rather than by effusion of Blood, consented, and gave them a Tarra to pass the Forts at Bankoke; but after their Departure from hence, being Enformed the said Captain was not so Innocent of the Plot as he had pretended, and Jelous that such a Crew, Headed by such a Desperado, might do much Mischief by Lurking in the Bay, and Surprizing the small Vessels that daily pass to and fro, to the great prejudice of the Port; He instantly dispatch'd an Express to the Chief Governour of the Garrison, one Monsieur Forbien, a Frenchman, and great Favourite of his Lordships, to En-order him, tho' not to stop the Vessel, (yet if possible to be done without Bloodshed) to detain the said Macasser, Captain, Prisoner in the Fort. To this End Forbien, on the Landing of four or five of them, to shew their pass before he would permit the opening of the Chain, sent them on Board again, with an Invitation for their said Captain to come on shore, who accor­dingly did, accompany'd with six others, and (whether through Ignorance or Oversight) were all of them permitted to Enter the Fort, Armed with Greases, where Forbien treated them very Civilly with Tea, &c. for the space of half an hour; but in the conclusion the Macassers offering to be gone, the French Governour, now too late, told the Captain he must Sur­render his Arms, which he replyed, he would not but with his Life; where­upon Forbien Commanding a Brazo Pintado, that stood by, to Disarm him, he immediately drew his Crease and ript up the poor Siammer, after whose Example the rest began their Muck, and fought very desperately untill they were all kill'd upon the place, by the Sentrys and the help of Two Englishmen, at that time Prisoners in the Fort, having first slain several Siammers, and wounded a Young French Captain.

This first Brush being over, the Governour sent to Summon the rest of the Macassers on shore, having before-hand Ordered to be drawn up two Companies of Siam and Portugueze Soldiers, (Headed by Captain Minchin, and Captain Hues, lately come-in hither from Bombay) to receive them, whilest himself secured the Fort with a Third Company; but they refusing to Obey his Summons, he sent to set Fire of their Vessel, which was ac­cordingly done, and the Macassers then seeing themselves forc'd to the shoar, and thinking to distract the Souldiers from too strict an observance of them, immediatly on their Landing set fire to several Houses, which gave them op­portunity to rally their Forces, then amounting to Forty three Persons armed only with Creases in open face of the Fort, where they undauntedly confron­ted the whole strength of the Garrison, which Captain Hues not able to bear, too rashly advanced against such desperate Fellows, and with six or seven Por­tugueses that follow'd him, met their Deaths on the point of their Enemies Creases, having first laid dead an equal number of the Macassers, Minchin al­so very narrowly escap'd with Life, being deserted by the unexperienced and Raw Souldiers under him, the Fort in the mean time not being able to ply their great Guns to do any Execution for fear of killing their own men; In [Page 3]this skirmish fell also about Twenty six Siammers, all of them Creast: How­ever at length the Macassers fled, and being afterwards pursued and hunted from place to place, in Seaven or Eight days time they were all taken, and their fifty Heads staked upon Poles at Bankoke, and it's not amiss their escape to Sea was so opportunely prevented, for three days after this happen'd, ar­riv'd some Englishmen from Mergin, who knew nothing of this matter, yet affirmed, That in the Offing of this Barr, they saw Forty Sayl of Mallay Ves­seis plying to Windward, whereas not one had gone out from hence, and there­fore it's supposed they had been Cruising on the Coast, to expect this said Captain with an Account of their Success on shoar, and that then the appoint­ed time being expired. and the time of English Shipping to arrive at hand doubtfull of a Discovery of the Plot a-shoar, they were returning homewards. A Third Party of these Macassers to the number of One Hundred or therea­bouts, with their Prince at the Head of them, stood upon their Defence in their own Camp, to whom the King after his return hither from Levo, was pleased to make a tender of Pardon, provided they would lay down their Arms, Tho' perhaps expecting by this his unlookt for Clemency, to arrive at the dis­covery of all such ill-affected Siammers, as possibly might have more then a fin­ger in this Conspiracy, but this gracious ofter of his Majesty had not the de­sign'd effect; for about the 10th. of this month, the said Prince attended by the whole Crew of desperate Votaries, all arm'd with Creases and Launces, went to the Pallace Gate: whence he sent word to his Majesty, That in the sense of his late Error, and reliance on his Royal word, he was come to ask his Majesties Pardon, and promise a peaceable demeanour for the future; and to that end desired admittance to throw himself at his Majesties Feet, To which he was answered, That the Posture he then was in, did not correspond with his pretences, but if he would first surrender his Arms, and Command his Attendants to do the like, his Majesty would rea­dily grant him liberty to come into his Presence, and confirm the Pardon he had already on that condition offered them; whereupon the Prince perempto­rily replied, he would never be guilty of so base a Submission as required the parting with their Arms; adding that he was not unsensible of an approaching great Storm: But, says he, tell the King, I am like a Great Tree, well Rooted, and shall be able to endure any ordinary Shock; but if the Storm comes so Vio­lently on that I cannot longer stand it, he may be Assured my fall will not be with­out the ruine of much under wood; and since I cannot be suffered to speak to the King with my Arms, if he has any further business with me, he knows where to find me at my own House.

All Resentment of these daring Expressions was seemingly smother'd, and it was thought most convenient to lull him into Security, by suffering him for that time to depart without taking any further notice of it; tho' all possible Preparations were with great privacy made to reduce him by Force. And ac­cordingly the Lord Phaulkon in Person, accompanied with Sixty Europeans, having first in the Night blockt up the small River, and so surrounded the Ma­cassers Camp with about two Hundred of the Kings Galleys and Boats, that they could not possibly fly, on Tuesday the Fourteenth Instant at break of day gave Order for the Onsett, intending first to have fired down all the Houses [Page 4]before them, that so they might force these Skulking Enemies to an open Fight, who otherwise would have the opportunity of Murdering all that came near them, and yet keep themselves unseen: But alas! the Rashness of some of the Chief Europeans hurried them on at once, to the breach of Orders and their own Deaths, and that without any damage to the Enemy; For Cap­tain Coates, and by his Example and Command, several others Landed before their time on a small Spot of a dry point, where the Macassers, e're they could well look about them, rushing out of the Houses dispatcht one Mr. Alvey, newly arriv'd on the Herbert, and forced the rest to take the Water again, in which hasty Retreat, Captain Coates with the weight of his own Ar­mour and Arms lost his Life in the Water, the rest with much danger and difficulty recovering their Boats. This sad Prologue to the yet sadder Trage­dy, a man would have thought warning enough for them to have proceeded afterwards with more discretion: but being for the most part of them men of more Resolution then Conduct, and unacquainted with the way of fighting with such an Enemy, and yet Emulous of shewing themselves every man more Valiant then his Neighbour: About three hours afterwards having by burning that part of the Camp, and hot plying of the Guns out of the Gallies, put the Enemy to a Retreat two Miles higher, up the small River, Captain Henry Udall (who in complement to his Lordship accompanied him to be only a Spectator) had not the Patience to continue any longer so; but, (notwithstanding all his Lordships earnest disswasions from it) would needs leap ashore, where he had not been long, with several other English in his Company, e're a parcell of Macassers, in disguise of Siammers, by hawling a small Boat along the Shoal-water, got so near them, un­discerned to be Enemies, as to reach them with their Launces, at which time it unluckily fell to Captain Ʋdalls Lot to lose his Life, the rest very difficultly escaping by taking the Water, tho' those Macassers escapt not the small-shot from the Boats: Nor was his Lordship exemp­ted from as Eminent Danger as any man that came off with Life; For Captain Ʋdall's resolute going a-shore had drawn him thither also, being loth to leave the Company of one he so much respected; but the Enemies Lances, (at which you know they are most expert) forced his Retreat, being glad for some time to hang on the off-side of his Boats Stern for shelter. You will not, (tho' many others I believe will) wonder the Europeans small shot could not prevent their doing so much mischief with only Lances and Creases, when you call to mind their desperateness, who are a sort of People that only value their Lives by the mischief they can do at their Deaths; and regard no more to run up to the very Muzzle of a Blunderbuss, then an Englishman would to hold his hand against a Boys Pop-Gun. There fell also four Frenchmen, among whom Monsieur de Roan was one: So that now at length other mens harder fates begun to make the rest more Circumspect; and con­tinuing to burn and lay all Levell before them, about Ten in the Fore­noon arrived them a Recruite of Siammers, (the whole number imployed by Land and Water being no less then Seaven or Eight Thousand) with which they began to pick them off very briskly, I mean as fast as they could [Page 5]spy them Skulking in the Bambo's, Thickets, and other Bushes, 'till at length the Prince himself was slain by the Captain of his Lordships Life-Guard, and about three a Clock the Fight ended; the Siammers after­wards only continuing to hem-in that place, to prevent the escape of any that might remain alive and attempt it. There was no Quarter given to a­ny Macassers in this days Fight, save only the Princes Son, a Boy of about Twelve Years, who after his Fathers fall came on undauntedly with his Lance presented at his Lordship; but drawing within reach, and perceiving his Lordship ready in the like posture to entertain him with his Lance, his Heart failed him, so that he cast away his Weapons, and threw himself at his Lordships Feet, who received him with all Courtesy, and brought him unbound to his Majesty. The next day what Men or Women remained, (for many of the latter were burnt in their Houses with their Children) were taken Prisoners by the Siammers. And thus ends the Story of the Ma­cassers with their Lives: But whether the Conspiracy, wherein they were concerned, will end with them, is very much to be doubted.