The priests suspected of having concealed much wealth were pierced through and through with arrows and spears and several were beaten to death with heavy clubs. The country side as well as the temples were strewn with corpses, and the river was choked with the bodies of the dead, the stench of which attracted swarms of flies causing much annoyance to the retreating army. The chief officers of state and the royal favourites were loaded with chains and condemned to slavery in the galleys. The King, witness of the unhappy fate of his court endeavoured to escape, but he was recognised and slain at the gates of the palace. The Priest King, torn from the silence of his retreat, was taken prisoner together with all the Royal family, and, all, through fear of torture confessed that they had much wealth concealed. When the greed of the invaders was satisfied and the country was full of dead and dying, the the victorious army set out for Pegu. The King of Siam was taken with them. The Bishop of Tabraca was included in the national disaster and was transported on shipboard. The detachment in charge of him was commanded by a man who was by no means a barbarian. His valour gained for him the governorship of Tavoy, a position of trust which justified the discernment of his master. CHAPTER X. THE MISFORTUNES OF THE EUROPEANS AFTER THE REVOLUTION. Perceiving that the country was laid waste, the houses pulled down, the Royal family led into captivity, and the people scattered abroad, husbands separated from their wives and parents from the children; the Europeans, accustomed to regard their rulers as protectors, were plunged into a state of fear. But the Siamese, who from time immemorial have crouched under the rod of tyranny and have toiled on behalf of merciless extortioners, were pleased in that by a change of masters they might meet a deliverer. They had no regrets at leaving a land where bonds had been their portion and as they had never tasted the sweets of liberty, were less sensitive to the humiliation of slavery. Unpatriotic citizens as they were, the sight of their erstwhile insolent tyrant, now condemned to slavery quite made up for their own degradation. The Christians on the other hand are accustomed to live in countries under the protection of the law. The scourge of war makes no alteration in their fate, and the harshest of conquerors can only keep his self respect while respecting the rights of nations. He can never deprive individuals of their freedom and if a conqueror appropriate their private possessions he is to be considered merely as a bandit.