Page 237 - A History of Siam

A HISTORT OF SIAM 223

Siam, entered into a Treaty with his cousin, whereby the
was divided between one to have his
principality them,
at and the other at 1
capital Luang P'rabang Wiengchan.
As for the beautiful Princess, she was sent to Ayut'ia,
and was to the Prince Sarasak.
presented Uparat,
Early in I7O3 1 King P'etraja, who was then aged
seventy-one, fell ill. Besides the Uparat, the King had
two little sons, named respectively Chao K'wan, borne
to him by Princess Yot'a T'ip, King Narai's sister, and
Tras Noi, the child of Princess Yot'a T'ep, that monarch's
daughter. Chao K'wan was aged about fourteen and
Tras Noi about ten. Chao K'wan was looked upon by
many people as a likely candidate for the throne, as being
a descendant of Prasat The there-
King T'ong. Uparat
fore determined to put him out of the way. Pretending
that he was going to make him a present of a new horse,
he enticed the poor boy into his palace, and caused him
to be murdered there. The victim's mother ran weeping
to the bedside of the dying King, and denounced the
murderer. The King roused himself to declare that
Prince Sarasak should not succeed to the throne, and
sending hastily for his maternal cousin, P'ra P'ijai
Surin, he proclaimed him as his heir. ' The same night
he died.
was not so black as he has been
King P'etraja nearly
painted. Just as contemporary French writers lavished
on their
absurdly extravagant praises patron, King Narai,
so also denounced their in
they enemy, King P'etraja,
1
Luang P'rabang history does not mention the intervention of Siam in the
dispute.
1
This date is taken from a table drawn up by Prince Damrong. The P'ong-
Turpin says 1700.
sawadan says that King P'etraja died in 1697. The book
called Statement of K'un Luang Ha Wat, supposed to have been dictated in Burma
by the ex-King Ut'ump'on of Ayut'ia, gives the date as 1701.
*
To have made Tras Noi his heir would, of course, have been equivalent to
sentencing him to death. Tras Noi was more fortunate than many other Princes
in a like position. He later became a priest, greatly renowned both for his know-
ledge of religious matters and foreign languages, and died, so far as is known,
a natural death.