I ;c
cbakr, within the palace precincts, whilst further off a
Royal salute of lor guns was fired by the Army and
Navy. That was the signal to the outside world that
the king had been crowned.
In the temples, the message was received, and was
sent out to th'e people by the ringing of bells. Solemn
and clear and true, dignity and joyousness blended; to
the tutored and untutored alike the message was
sent.
The King was crowned.
But that was Bangkok, By a pre-arranged
system of signals, the tale was told to temples through-
out the country, and in the temples, with due solem-
nity, the bells were rung, and the message was wafted
to the labourer in the fields, to the men whose daily
duties take them into the fastness of the jungle to
the traders in the villages, to the people on the rivers.
From the Capital it went forth to every nook and
cranny of the land. From province to province it
spread, into the innermost recesses of the country. To
plain and hill and shore the pregnant notes of the
temple bells were wafted—and the people knew and
rejoiced.
The King was crowned.