GIFT OF
THE SUPREME KING
THE
ENGLISH GOVERNESS
AT
THE SIAMESE COURT:
BEING
RECOLLECTIONS OF SIX YEARS IN THE ROYAL
PALACE AT BANGKOK.
ANNA HARRIETTS LEONOWENS.
M
itl) Illustration*,
FROM PHOTOGRAPHS PRESENTED TO THE AUTHOR BY THE
KING OF SIAM.
BOSTON:
FIELDS, OSGOOD, & CO.
1870.
t)
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870,
BY FIELDS, OSGOOD, & CO.,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & Co.
CAMBRIDGE.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
I. THE SUPREME KING Frontispiece.
II. THE PRIME MINISTER .... . Page H
III. THE TEMPLE OF THE SLEEPING IDOL .... 49
IV. THE BEAUTIFUL GATE OF THE TEMPLE ... 52
V. A PUPIL OF THE ROYAL SCHOOL 78
VI. PRESENTATION OF A PRINCESS ..... 102
VII. GATEWAY OF THE OLD PALACE 129
VIII. A WAR ELEPHANT 140
IX. THE HEIR-APPARENT 154
X. SIAMESE ACTOR AND ACTRESS 176
XL SPIRE OF THE TEMPLE WATT-POH .... 180
XII. PRIESTS AT BREAKFAST 203
XIII. THE PRINCESS OF CHIENGMAI 223
XIV. A ROYAL BARGE . 295
XV. RUINS OF THE NAGHKON WATT. (Double.) . . . 306
XVI. SCULPTURES OF THE NAGHKON WATT. (Double.) . 310
TO
MRS. KATHERINE S. COBB.
I HAVE not asked your leave, dear friend, to dedicate to you
these pages of my experience in the heart of an Asiatic court;
but I know you will indulge me when I tell you that my single
object in inscribing your name here is to evince my grateful appre
ciation of the kindness that led you to urge me to try the resources
of your country instead of returning to Siam, and to plead so ten
derly in behalf of my children.
I wish the offering were more worthy of your acceptance. But
to associate your name with the work your cordial sympathy has
fostered, and thus pleasantly to retrace even the saddest of my
recollections, amid the happiness that now surrounds me, — a hap
piness I owe to the generous friendship of noble-hearted American
women, — is indeed a privilege and a compensation.
I remain, with true affection, gratitude, and admiration,
Your friend,
A. H. L.
26th July, 1870.
PREFACE.
"T j~TS Majesty, Somdetch P'hra Paramendr Maha
-* — *- Mongkut, the Supreme King of Siam, having sent
to Singapore for an English lady to undertake the educa
tion of his children, my friends pointed to me. At first
it was with much reluctance that I consented to entertain
the project ; but, strange as it may seem, the more I re-
ilected upon it the more feasible it appeared, until at
length I began to look forward, even with a glow of en
thusiasm, toward the new and -untried field I was about
to enter.
The Siamese Consul at Singapore, Hon. W. Tan Kim-
Ching, had written strongly in my favor to the Court of
Siam, and in response I received the following letter from
the King himself : — •
"ENGLISH ERA, 1862, 26th February.
GIIAND ROYAL PALACE, BANGKOK.
" To MRS. A. H. LEONOWENS : —
" MADAM : We are in good pleasure, and satisfaction
in heart, that you are in willingness to undertake the
education of our beloved royal children. And we hope
that in doing your education on us and on our children
VI PREFACE.
(whom English call inhabitants of benighted land) you
will do your best endeavor for knowledge of English
language, science, and literature, and not for conversion
to Christianity ; as the followers of Buddha are mostly
aware of the powerfulness of truth and virtue, as well as
the followers of Christ, and are desirous to have facility
of English language and literature, more than new religions.
" We beg to invite you to our royal palace to do your
best endeavorment upon us and our children. We shall
expect to see you here on return of Siamese steamer
Chow Phya.
" We have written to Mr. William Adamson, and to
our consul at Singapore, to authorize to do best arrange
ment for you and ourselves.
" Believe me
" Your faithfully,
(Signed) " S. S. P. P. MAHA MONGKUT."
About a week before our departure for Bangkok, the
captain and mate of the steamer Rainbow called upon
me. One of these gentlemen had for several years served
the government of Siam, and they came to warn me of
the trials and dangers that must inevitably attend the en
terprise in which I was embarking. Though it was now
too late to deter me from the undertaking by any argu
ments addressed to my fears, I can nevertheless never
forget the generous impulse of the honest seamen, who
said : " Madam, be advised even by strangers, who have
PREFACE. Vll
proved what sufferings await you, and shake your hands
of this mad undertaking." By the next steamer I sailed
for the Court of Siam.
In the following pages I have tried to give a full and
faithful account of the scenes and the characters that
were gradually unfolded to me as I began to understand
the language, and by all other means to attain a clearer
insight into the secret life of the court, I was thank
ful to find, even in this citadel of Buddhism, men, and
above all women, who were " lovely in their lives," who,
amid infinite difficulties, in the bosom of a most cor
rupt society, and enslaved to a capricious and often cruel
will, yet devoted themselves to an earnest search after
truth. On the other hand, I have to confess with sorrow
and shame, how far we, with all our boasted enlighten
ment, fall short, in true nobility and piety, of some of
our " benighted " sisters of the East, With many of
them, Love, Truth, and Wisdom are not mere synonyms
but " living gods," for whom they long with lively ardor,
and, when found, embrace with joy.
Those of my readers who may find themselves interested
in the wonderful ruins recently discovered in Cambodia
are indebted to the earlier travellers, M. Henri Mouhot,
Dr. A. Bastian, and the able English photographer. James
Thomson, F. E. G. S. L., almost as much as to myself.
To the Hon. George William Curtis of New York,
and to all my other true friends, abroad and in America,
I feel very grateful.
Vlll PKEFACE.
And finally, I would acknowledge the deep obligation
I am under to Dr. J. W. Palmer, whose literary experi
ence and skill have been of so great service to me in re
vising and preparing my manuscript for the press.
A. H. L.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. ON THE THRESHOLD . . . . . . . 1
II. A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME . . . . 14
III. A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY 25
IV. His EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET . .42
V. THE TEMPLES OF THE SLEEPING AND THE EMERALD
IDOLS 49
VI. THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS .... 54
VII. MARBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS .... 67
VIII. OUR HOME IN BANGKOK 73
IX. OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE 78
X. MOONSHEE AND THE ANGEL GABRIEL ... 88
XI. THE WAYS OF THE PALACE . . . ... 93
XII. SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM . . 102
XIII. FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING 116
XIV. AN OUTRAGE AND A WARNING . . . . 125
XV. THE CITY OF BANGKOK 129
XVI. THE WHITE ELEPHANT . . . . . .140
XVII. THE CEREMONIES OF CORONATION . . . . 146
XVIII. THE QUEEN CONSORT 151
XIX. THE HEIR-APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING . 154
XX. AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT 167
XXI. SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART . . . . 175
X CONTENTS.
XXII. BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP . .183
XXIII. CREMATION 204
XXIV. CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS 217
XXV. THE SUBORDINATE KING 222
XXVI. THE SUPREME KING : HIS CHARACTER AND ADMIN
ISTRATION 237
XXVII. MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE . . . 269
XXVIII. THE KINGDOM OF SIAM 286
XXIX. THE RUINS OF CAMBODIA. — Ax EXCURSION TO THE
NAGHKON WATT 300
XXX. THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON . 314
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THE ENGLISH GOVERNESS
AT THE SIAMESE COUKT.
I.
ON THE THRESHOLD.
MAECH 15,1862. — On board the small Siamese
steamer Chow Phya, in the Gulf of Siam.
I rose before the sun, and ran on deck to catch an
early glimpse of the strange land we were nearing ; and
as I peered eagerly, not through mist and haze, but
straight into the clear, bright, many-tinted ether, there
came the first faint, tremulous blush of dawn, behind her
rosy veil ; and presently the welcome face shines boldly
out, glad, glorious, beautiful, and aureoled with flaming
hues of orange, fringed with amber and gold, wherefrom
flossy webs of color float wide through the sky, paling as
they go. A vision of comfort and gladness, that tropical
March morning, genial as a July dawn in my own less
ardent clime ; but the memory of two round, tender arms,
and two little dimpled hands, that so lately had made
themselves loving fetters round my neck, in the vain
hope of holding mamma fast, blinded my outlook; and
as, with a nervous tremor and a rude jerk, we came to
anchor there, so with a shock and a tremor I came to my
hard realities.
The captain told us we must wait for the afternoon
tide to carry us over the bar. I lingered on deck, as
1 A
2 OX THE THRESHOLD.
long as I could dodge the fiery spears that flashed through
our tattered awning, and bear the bustle and the boister
ous jests of some circus people, our fellow-passengers,
who came by express invitation of the king to astonish
and amuse the royal household and the court.
Scarcely less intelligent, and certainly more entertain
ing, than these were the dogs of our company, — brutes
of diverse temperament, experience, and behavior. There
were the captain's two, Trumpet and Jip, who, by virtue
of their reflected rank and authority, held places of privi
lege and pickings under the table, and were jealous and
overbearing as became a captain's favorites, snubbing and
bullying their more accomplished and versatile guests,
the circus dogs, with skipper-like growls and snarls and
snaps. And there was "our own true Bessy, — a New
foundland, great and good, — discreet, reposeful, dignified,
fastidious, not to be cajoled into confidences and famili
arities with strange dogs, whether official or professional.
Very human was her gentle countenance, and very loyal,
I doubt not, her sense of responsibility, as she followed
anxiously my boy and me, interpreting with her heart the
thoughts she read in our faces, and responding with her
sympathetic eyes.
In the afternoon, when we dined on deck, the land was
plainly visible ; and now, as with a favoring tide we
glided toward the beautiful Meinam (" Mother of Waters"),
the air grew brighter, and the picture lived and moved ;
trees grew on the banks, more and more verdure,
monkeys swung from bough to bough, birds flashed and
piped among the thickets.
Though the reddish-brown water over the "banks "is
very shallow at low tide, craft of moderate burden, with
the aid of a pilot, cast anchor commonly in the very
heart of the capital, in from ten to twelve fathoms of
water
OX THE THRESHOLD. 3
The world has few rivers so deep, commodious, and
safe as the Meinam ; and when we arrived the authorities
were contemplating the erection of beacons on the bar,
as well as a lighthouse for the benefit of vessels enter
ing the port of Bangkok. The stream is rich in fish of
excellent quality and flavor, such as is found in most of
the great rivers of Asia ; and is especially noted for its
platoo, a kind of sardine, so abundant and cheap that it
forms a common seasoning to the laborer's bowl of rice.
The Siamese are expert in modes of drying and salting
fish of all kinds, and large quantities are exported annu
ally to Java, Sumatra, Malacca, and China.
In half an hour from the time when the twin banks
of the river, in their raiment of bright green, seemed to
open their beautiful arms to receive us, we came to an
chor opposite the mean, shabby, irregular town of Pak-
nam, or Sumuttra P'hra-kan (" Ocean Affairs "). Here the
captain went ashore to report himself to the Governor,
and the officials of the custom-house, and the mail-boat
came out to us. My boy became impatient for couay
(cake) ; Moonshee, my Persian teacher, and Beebe, my
gay Hindostanee nurse, expressed their disappointment
and disgust, Moonshee being absurdly dramatic in his
wrath, as, fairly shaking his fist at the town, he de
manded, " What is this ? "
Near this place are two islands. The one on the right
is fortified, yet withal so green and pretty, and seemingly
so innocent of bellicose designs, that one may fancy Na
ture has taken peculiar pains to heal and hide the dis
figurements grim Art has made in her beauty. On the
other, which at first I took for a floating shrine of white
marble, is perhaps the most unique and graceful object of
architecture in Siam ; shining like a jewel on the broad
bosom of the river, a temple all of purest white, its
lofty spire, fantastic and gilded, flashing back the glory
4 ON THE THRESHOLD.
of the sun, and duplicated in shifting, quivering shadows
in the limpid waters below. Add to these the fitful rip
ple of the coquettish breeze, the burnished blazonry of
the surrounding vegetation, the budding charms of spring
joined to the sensuous opulence of autumn, and you
have a scene of lovely glamour it were but vain imper
tinence to describe. Earth seemed to have gathered for
her adorning here elements more intellectual, poetic, and
inspiring than she commonly displays to pagan eyes.
These islands at the gateway of the river are, like the
bank in the gulf, but accumulations of the sand borne
down before the torrent, that, suddenly swollen by the
rains, rushes annually to the sea. The one on which the
temple stands is partly artificial, having been raised from
the bed of the Meinam by the king P'hra Chow Phra-sat-
thong, as a work of " merit." Visiting this island some
years later, I found that this temple, like all other py
ramidal structures in this part of the world, consists of
solid masonry of brick and mortar. The bricks made
here are remarkable, being fully eight inches long and
nearly four broad, and of fine grain, — altogether not un
like the "tavellae" brick of the Egyptians and ancient
Eomans. There are cornices on all sides, with steps to
ascend to the top, where a long inscription proclaims the
name, rank, and virtues of the founder, with dates of
the commencement of the island and the shrine. The
whole of the space, extending to the low stone breakwater
that surrounds the island, is paved with the same kind
of brick, and encloses, in addition to the P'hra-Cha-dei
(" The Lord's Delight "), a smaller temple with a brass
image of the sitting Buddha. It also affords accommoda
tion to the numerous retinue of princes, nobles, retainers,
and pages who attend the king in his annual visits to the
temple, to worship, and make votive offerings and dona
tions to the priests.
' ON THE THRESHOLD. 5
A charming spot, yet not one to be contemplated with
unalloyed pleasure ; for here also are the wretched people,
who pass up and down in boats, averting their eyes, press
ing their hard, labor-grimed hands against their sweating
foreheads, and lowly louting in blind awe to these whited
bricks. Even the naked children hush and crouch, and
lay their little foreheads against the bottom of the boat.
His Majesty Somdetch P'hra Paramendr Malm Mong-
kut, the late Supreme King, contributed interesting souve
nirs to the enlargement and adornment of this temple.
The town, which the twin islands redeem from the
ignominy it otherwise deserves, lies on the east bank of
the river, and by its long lines of low ramparts that face
the water seems to have been at one time substantially
fortified; but the works are now dilapidated and neg
lected. They were constructed in the first instance, I am
told, with fatal ingenuity ; in the event of an attack the
garrison would find them as dangerous to abandon as to
defend. Paknam is indebted for its importance rather to
its natural position, and its possibilities of improvement
under the abler hands into which it is gradually falling,
than to any advantage or promise in itself; for a more
disgusting, repulsive place is scarcely to be found on
Asian ground.
The houses are built partly of mud, partly of wood,
and, as in those of Malacca, only the upper story is habit
able, the ground floor being the abode of pigs, dogs, fowls,
and noisome reptiles. The " Government House " was
originally of stone, but all the more recent additions have
been shabbily constructed of rough timber and mud.
This is one of the few houses in Paknam which one may
enter without mounting a ladder or a clumsy staircase,
and which have rooms in the lower as well as in the upper
story.
The Custom-House is an open sola, or shed, where
6 ON THE THRESHOLD.
interpreters, inspectors, and tidewaiters lounge away the
day on cool mats, chewing areca, betel, and tobacco, and
extorting moneys, goods, or provisions from the unhappy
proprietors of native trading craft, large or small ; but
Europeans are protected from their rascally and insolent
exactions by the intelligence and energy of their respec
tive consuls.
The hotel is a whitewashed brick building, originally
designed to accommodate foreign ambassadors and other
official personages visiting the Court of Siam. The king's
summer-house, fronting the islands, is the largest edifice
to be seen, but it has neither dignity nor beauty. A
number of inferior temples and monasteries occupy the
background, and are crowded with a rabble of priests, in
yellow robes and with shaven pates ; packs of mangy
pariah-dogs attend them. These monasteries consist of
many small rooms or cells, containing merely a mat and
wooden pillow for each occupant. The refuse of the food,
which the priests beg during the day, is cast to the dogs
at night ; and what they refuse is left to putrefy. Un
imaginable are the stenches the sun of Siam engenders
in such conditions.
A village so happily situated might, under better man
agement, become a thriving and pleasing port ; but neg
lect, cupidity, and misrule have shockingly deformed and
degraded it. Nevertheless, by its picturesque site and
surroundings of beauty, it retains its hold upon the regret
ful admiration of many Europeans and Americans, who
in ill health have found strength and cheer in its sea-
breezes.
We heartily enjoyed the delightful freshness of the
evening air as we glided up the Meinam, though the river
view at this point is somewhat marred by the wooden piers
and quays that line it on either side, and the floating
houses, representing elongated As. From the deck, at a
ON THE THRESHOLD. 7
convenient height above the level of the river and the nar
row serpentine canals and creeks, we looked down upon
conical roofs thatched with attaps, and diversified by the
pyramids and spires and fantastic turrets of the more im
portant buildings. The valley of the Meinam, riot over six
hundred miles in length, is as a long deep dent or fissure
in the alluvial soil. At its southern extremity we have
the climate and vegetation of the tropics, while its north
ern end, on the brow of the Yunan, is a region of per
petual snow. The surrounding country is remarkable for
the bountiful productiveness of its unctuous loam. The
scenery, though not wild nor grand, is very picturesque
and charming in the peculiar golden haze of its atmos
phere. I surveyed with more and more admiration each
new scene of blended luxuriance and beauty, — planta
tions spreading on either hand as far as the eye could
reach, and level fields of living green, billowy with crops
of rice and maize, and sugar-cane and coffee, and cotton
and tobacco ; and the wide irregular river, a kaleidoscope
of evanescent form and color, where land, water, and sky
joined or parted in a thousand charming surprises of
shapes and shadows.
The sun was already sinking in the west, when we
caught sight of a tall roof of familiar European fashion ;
and presently a lowly white chapel with green windows,
freshly painted, peeped out beside two pleasant dwell
ings. Chapel and homes belong to the American Presbyte
rian Mission. A forest of graceful boughs filled the back
ground ; the last faint rays of the departing sun fell on
the Mission pathway, and the gentle swaying of the tall
trees over the chapel imparted a promise of safety and
peace, as the glamour of the approaching night and the
gloom and mystery of the pagan land into which we were
penetrating filled me with an indefinable dread. I almost
trembled, as the unfriendly clouds drove out the lingering
8 ON THE THRESHOLD.
tints of day. Here were the strange floating- city, with
its stranger people on all the open porches, quays, and
jetties ; the innumerable rafts and boats, canoes and gon
dolas, junks, and ships ; the pall of black smoke from
the steamer, the burly roar of the engine, and the murmur
and the jar; the bewildering cries of men, women, and
children, the shouting of the Chinamen, and the barking
of the dogs, — yet no one seemed troubled but me. I
knew it was wisest to hide my fears. It was the old
story. How many of our sisters, how many of our daugh
ters, how many of our hearts' darlings, are thus, without
friend or guide or guard or asylum, turning into untried
paths with untold stories of trouble and pain !
We dropped anchor in deep water near an island. In
a moment the river was alive with nondescript craft,
worked by amphibious creatures, half naked, swarthy, and
grim, who rent the air with shrill, wild jargon as they
scrambled toward us. In the distance were several hulks
of Siamese men-of-war, seemingly as old as the flood;
and on the right towered, tier over tier, the broad roofs of
the grand Eoyal Palace of Bangkok, — my future " home "
and the scene of my future labors.
The circus people are preparing to land ; and the dogs,
running to and fro with anxious glances, have an air of
leave-taking also. Now the China coolies, with pigtails
braided and coiled round their low, receding brows, begin
their uncouth bustle, and into the small hours of the
morning enliven the time of waiting with frantic shouts
and gestures.
Before long a showy gondola, fashioned like a dragon,
with flashing torches and many paddles, approached ;
and a Siamese official mounted the side, swaying himself
with an absolute air. The red langoutee, or skirt, loosely
folded about his person, did not reach his ankles ; and
to cover his audacious chest and shoulders he had only
ON THE THRESHOLD.
his own brown polished skin. He was followed by a
dozen attendants, who, the moment they stepped from
the gangway, sprawled on the deck like huge toads,
doubling their arms and legs under them, and pressing
their noses against the boards, as if intent on making
themselves small by degrees and hideously less. Every
Asiatic on deck, coolies and all, prostrates himself, ex
cept my two servants, who are bewildered. Moonshee
covertly mumbles his five prayers, ejaculating between,
Mask-Allah ! A Tala-yea Jcia Jiai?* and Beebe shrinks,
and draws her veil of spotted muslin jealously over her
charms.
The captain stepped forward and introduced us. " His
Excellency Chow Phya Sri Sury Wongse, Prime Minister
of the Kingdom of Siam ! "
Half naked as he was, and without an emblem to de
note his rank, there was yet something remarkable about
this native chief, by virtue of which he compelled our
respect from the first glance, — a sensibly magnetic qual
ity of tone or look. With an air of command oddly at
variance with his almost indecent attire, of which he
seemed superbly unconscious, he beckoned to a young at
tendant, who crawled to him as a dog crawls to an angry
master. This was an interpreter, who at a word from his
lord began to question me in English.
"Are you the lady who is to teach in the royal
family ? "
On my replying in the affirmative, he asked, " Have
you friends in Bangkok ? "
Finding I had none, he was silent for a minute or two ;
then demanded : " What will you do ? Where will you
sleep to-night ? "
" Indeed I cannot tell," I said. " I am a stranger here.
But I understood from his Majesty's letter that a resi-
* " Great God ! what is this ? "
1*
10 ON^ THE THRESHOLD.
dence would be provided for us on our arrival ; and he
lias been duly informed that we were to arrive at this
time."
"His Majesty cannot remember everything," said his
Excellency; the interpreter added, "You can go where
you like." And away went master and slaves. I was
dumfoundered, without even voice to inquire if there
was a hotel in the city ; and my servants were scornfully
mute. My kind friend the captain was sorely puzzled.
He would have sheltered us if he could ; but a cloud of
coal-dust and the stamping and screaming of a hundred
and fifty Chinamen made hospitality impracticable; so
I made a little bed for my child on deck, and prepared to
pass the night with him under a canopy of stars.
The situation was as Oriental as the scene, — heartless
arbitrary insolence on the part of my employers ; home-
lessness, forlornness, helplessness, mortification, indigna
tion, on mine. Fears and misgivings crowded and stunned
,me. My tears fell thick and fast, and, weary and despair
ing, I closed my eyes, and tried to shut out heaven and
earth ; but the reflection would return to mock and goad
me, that by my own act, and against the advice of my
friends, I had placed myself in this position.
The good captain of the Chow Phya, much troubled
by the conduct of the minister, paced the deck (which usu
ally, on these occasions, he left to the supercargo) for more
than an hour. Presently a boat approached, and he hailed
it. In a moment it was at the gangway, and with robust,
hearty greetings on both sides, Captain B , a cheery
Englishman, with a round, ruddy, rousing face, sprang on
board ; in a few words our predicament was explained to
him, and at once he invited us to share his house, for the
night at least, assuring us of a cordial welcome from his
wife. In the beautiful gondola of our " friend in need "
we were pulled by four men, standing to their oars,
ON THE THRESHOLD. 11
through a dream-like scene, peculiar to this Venice of the
East. Larger boats, in an endless variety of form and
adornment, with prows high, tapering, and elaborately
carved, and pretty little gondolas and canoes, passed us
continually on the right and left; yet amid so many
signs of life, motion, traffic, bustle, the sweet sound of the
rippling waters alone fell on the ear. Xo rumbling of
wheels, nor clatter of hoofs, nor clangor of bells, nor roar
and scream of engines to shock the soothing fairy-like
illusion. The double charm of stillness and starlight was
perfect.
" By the by," broke in my cheery new friend, " you '11
have to go with me to the play, ma'm ; because my wife
is there with the boys, and the house-key is in her pocket."
" To the play ! "
" 0, don't be alarmed, ma'm ! It 's not a regular thea
tre ; only a catchpenny show, got up by a Frenchman,
who came from Singapore a fortnight since. And having
so little amusement here, we are grateful for anything
that may help to break the monotony. The temporary
playhouse is within the palace grounds of his Royal
Highness Prince Krom Llmang "Wongse ; and I hope to
have an opportunity to introduce you to the Prince, who
I believe is to be present with his family."
The intelligence was not gratifying, a Siamese prince
had too lately disturbed my moral equilibrium; but I
held my peace and awaited the result with resignation.
A few strokes of the oars, seconded by the swift though
silent current, brought us to a wooden pier surmounted
by two glaring lanterns. Captain B handed us out.
My child, startled from a deep sleep, was refractory, and
would not trust himself out of my fond keeping. When
finally I had struggled with him in my arms to the land
ing, I saw in the shadow a form coiled on a piece of
striped matting. Was it a bear ? No, a prince ! For the
12 ON THE THRESHOLD.
clumsy mass of reddish-brown flesh unrolled and uplifted
itself, and held out a human arm, with a fat hand at the
end of it, when Captain B — - presented me to "his Ptoyal
Highness." Near by was his Excellency the Prime Min
ister, in the identical costume that had disgraced our
unpleasant interview on the Chow Phya ; he was smok
ing a European pipe, and plainly enjoying our terrors.
My stalwart friend contrived to squeeze us, and even
himself, first through a bamboo door, and then through a
crowd of hot people, to seats fronting a sort of altar, con
secrated to the arts of jugglery. A number of Chinamen
of respectable appearance occupied the more distant
places, while those immediately behind us were filled
by the ladies and gentlemen of the foreign community.
On a raised dais hung with kincob * curtains, the ladies
of the Prince's harem reclined ; while their children,
shining in silk and ornaments of gold, laughed, prattled,
and gesticulated, until the juggler appeared, when they
were stunned with sudden wonder. Under the eaves on
all sides human heads were packed, on. every head its
cherished tuft of hair, like a stiff black brush inverted, in
every mouth its delicious cud of areca-nut and betel,
which the human cattle ruminated with industrious con
tent. The juggler, a keen little Frenchman, plied his
arts nimbly, and what with his ventriloquial doll, his
empty bag full of eggs, his stones that were candies, and
his candies that were stones, and his stuffed birds that
sang, astonished and delighted his unsophisticated patrons,
whose applauding murmurs were diversified by familiarly
silly shrieks — the true Siamese Did-you-ever ! — from be
hind the kincob curtains.
But I was weary and disheartened, and welcomed with
a sigh of relief the closing of the show. As we passed out
with our guide, the glare of many torches falling on the
* Silk, embroidered with gold flowers.
ON THE THRESHOLD. 13
dark silent river made the swarthy forms of the boatmen
weird and Charon-like. Mrs. B welcomed us with a
pleasant smile to her little heaven of home across the
river, and by the simplicity and gentleness of her man
ners dispelled in a measure my feeling of forlornness.
When at last I found myself alone, I would have sought
the sleep I so much needed, but the strange scenes of the
day chased each other in agitating confusion through my
brain. Then I quitted the side of my sleeping boy, tri
umphant in his dreamless innocence, and sat defeated by
the window, to crave counsel and help from the ever-
present Friend ; and as I waited I sank into a tumultuous
slumber, from which at last I started to find the long-
tarrying dawn climbing over a low wall and creeping
through a half-open shutter.
i
II.
A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME.
STARTED up, arranged my dress, and smoothed my
hair ; though no water nor any after-touches could
remove the shadow that night of gloom and loneliness
had left upon my face. But my boy awoke with eager,
questioning eyes, his smile bright and his hair lustrous.
As we knelt together by the window at the feet of " Our
Father," I could not but ask in the darkness of my trouble,
did it need so bitter a baptism as ours to purify so young
a soul ?
In an outer room we met Mrs. B en desh,alrill£, and
scarcely so pretty as at our first meeting, but for her smile,
remarkable for its subtile, evanescent sweetness. At
breakfast our host joined us, and, after laughing a,t our
late predicament and fright, assured me of that which I
have since experienced, — the genuine goodness of the
Prince Krom Lhuang "Wbngse. Every foreign resident of
Bangkok, who at any time has had friendly acquaintance or
business with him, would, I doubt not, join me in expres
sions of admiration and regard for one who lias main
tained through circumstances so trying and under a
system so oppressive an exemplary reputation for liber
ality, integrity, justice, and humanity.
Soon after breakfast the Prime Minister's boat, with
the slave interpreter who had questioned me on the
steamer, arrived to take us to his Excellency's palace.
In about a quarter of an hour we found ourselves in
THE PRIME MINISTER.
A SIAMESE PKEMIER AT HOME. 15
front of a low gateway, which opened on a wide court
yard, or "compound," paved with rough-hewn slabs of
stone. A brace of Chinese mandarins of ferocious aspect,
cut in stone and mounted on stone horses, guarded the
entrance. Farther on, a pair of men-at-arms in bass-relief
challenged us ; and near these were posted two living
sentries, in European costume, but without shoes. On
the left was a pavilion for theatrical entertainments, one
entire wall being covered with scenic pictures. On the
right of this stood the palace of the Prime Minister,
displaying a semicircular facade; in the background a
range of buildings of considerable extent, comprising the
lodgings of his numerous wives. Attached to the largest
of these houses was a charming garden of flowers, in the
midst of which a refreshing fountain played. His Excel
lency's residence abounded within in carvings and gild
ings, elegant in design and color, that blended and har
monized in pleasing effects with the luxurious draperies
that hung in rich folds from the windows.
We moved softly, as the interpreter led us through a
suite of spacious saloons, disposed in ascending tiers, and
all carpeted, candelabraed, and appointed in the most
costly European fashion. A superb vase of silver, em
bossed and burnished, stood on a table inlaid with mother-
of-pearl and chased with silver. Flowers of great variety
and beauty filled the rooms with a delicious though
slightly oppressive fragrance. On every side my eyes
were delighted with rare vases, jewelled cups and boxes,
burnished chalices, dainty statuettes, — objets de virtu,
Oriental and European, antique and modern, blending the
old barbaric splendors with the graces of the younger
arts.
As we waited, fascinated and bewildered, the Prime
Minister suddenly stood before us, — the semi-nude bar
barian of last night. I lost my presence of mind, and in
16 A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME.
my embarrassment would have left the room. But he
held out his hand, saying, " Good morning, sir ! Take a
seat, sir ! " which I did somewhat shyly, but not with
out a smile for his comical " sir." I spied a number of
young girls peeping at us from behind curtains, while
the male attendants, among whom were his younger
brothers, nephews, and cousins, crouched in the ante
chamber on all fours. His Excellency, with an expres
sion of pleased curiosity, and that same grand uncon
sciousness of his alarming poverty of costume, approached
us nearly, and, with a kindly smile patting Boy on the
head, asked him his name. But the child cried aloud,
" Mamma, come home ! Please, mamma, come home ! "
and I found it not easy to quiet him.
Presently, mustering courage for myself also, I ven
tured to express my wish for a quiet house or apartments,
where I might be free from intrusion, and at perfect lib
erty before and after school-hours.
When this reasonable request was interpreted to him —
seemingly in a few monosyllables — he stood looking at
me, smiling, as if surprised and amused that I should
have notions on the subject of liberty. Quickly this look
became inquisitive and significant, so that I began to
fancy he had doubts as to the use I might make of my
stipulated freedom, and was puzzled to conjecture why a
woman should wish to be free at all. Some such thought
must have passed through his mind, for he said abruptly,
" You not married ! "
I bowed.
" Then where will you go in the evening ? "
" Not anywhere, your Excellency. I simply desire to
secure for myself and my child some hours of privacy and
rest, when my duties do not require my presence else
where."
" How many years your husband has been dead ? " he
asked.
A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME. 17
I replied that his Excellency had no right to pry into
my domestic concerns. His business was with me as a
governess only ; on any other subject I declined convers
ing. I enjoyed the expression of blank amazement with
which he regarded me on receiving this somewhat defiant
reply. " Tain cliai ! " (" Please yourself ! ") he said, and
proceeded to pace to and fro, but without turning his eyes
from my face, or ceasing to smile. Then he said some
thing to his attendants, five or six of whom, raising them
selves on their knees, with their eyes fixed upon the
carpet, crawled backward till they reached the steps,
bobbed their heads and shoulders, started spasmodically
to their feet, and fled from the apartment. My boy, who
had been awed and terrified, began to cry, and I too was
startled. Again he uttered the harsh gutturals, and in
stantly, as with an electric shock, another half-dozen of
the prostrate slaves sprang up and ran. Then he resumed
his mysterious promenade, still carefully keeping an eye
upon us, and smiling by way of conversation. It was long
before I could imagine what we were to do. Boy, fairly
tortured, cried " Come home, mamma ! why don't you
come home ? I don't like that man." His Excellency
halted, and sinking his voice ominously, said, "You no
can go ! " Boy clutched my dress, and hid his face and
smothered his sobs in my lap ; and yet, attracted, fasci
nated, the poor little fellow from time to time looked up,
only to shudder, tremble, and hide his face again. For
his sake I was glad when the interpreter returned on all
fours. Pushing one elbow straight out before the other,
in the manner of these people, he approached his master
with such a salutation as might be offered to deity ; and
with a few more unintelligible utterances, his Excellency
bowed to us, and disappeared behind a mirror. All the
curious, peering eyes that had been directed upon us from
every nook and corner where a curtain hung, instantly
18 A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME.
vanished ; and at the same time sweet, wild music, like
the tinkling of silver bells in the distance, fell upon our
ears.
To my astonishment the interpreter stood boldly up
right, and began to contemplate his irresistible face and
figure in a glass, and arrange with cool coxcombry his
darling tuft of hair ; which done, he approached us with
a mild swagger, and proceeded to address me with a free
dom which I found it expedient to snub. I told him
that, although I did not require any human being to go
down on his face and hands before me, I should never
theless tolerate no familiarity or disrespect from any one.
The fellow understood me well enough, but did not per
mit me to recover immediately from my surprise at the
sudden change in his bearing and tone. As he led us to
the two elegant rooms reserved for us in the west end of
the palace, he informed us that he was the Premier's half-
brother, and hinted that I would be wise to conciliate
him if I wished to have my own way. In the act of
entering one of the rooms, I turned upon him angrily,
and bade him be off. The next moment this half-brother
of a Siamese magnate was kneeling in abject supplication
in the half-open doorway, imploring me not to report him
to his Excellency, and promising never to offend again.
Here was a miracle of repentance I had not looked for ;
but the miracle was sham. Eage, cunning, insolence,
servility, and hypocrisy were vilely mixed in the minion.
Our chambers opened on a quiet piazza, shaded by
fruit-trees in blossom, and overlooking a small artificial
lake stocked with pretty, sportive fish.
To be free to make a stunning din is a Siamese
woman's idea of perfect enjoyment. Hardly were we
installed in our apartments when, with a pell-mell rush
and screams of laughter, the ladies of his Excellency's
private Utah reconnoitred us in force. Crowding in
A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME. 19
through the half-open door, they scrambled for me
with eager curiosity, all trying at once to embrace me
boisterously, and promiscuously chattering in shrill Sia
mese, — a bedlam of parrots ; while I endeavored to make
myself impartially agreeable in the language of signs
and glances. Nearly all were young ; and in symmetry
of form, delicacy of feature, and fairness of complexion,
decidedly superior to the Malay women I had been ac
customed to. Most of them might have been positively
attractive, but for their ingeniously ugly mode of clipping
the hair and blackening the teeth.
The youngest were mere children, hardly more than
fourteen years old. All were arrayed in rich materials,
though the fashion did not differ from that of their
slaves, numbers of whom were prostrate in the rooms
and passages. My apartments were ablaze with their
crimson, blue, orange, and purple, their ornaments of
gold, their rings and brilliants, and their jewelled boxes.
Two or three of the younger girls satisfied my Western
ideas of beauty, with their clear, mellow, olive complex
ions, and their almond-shaped eyes, so dark yet glowing.
Those among them who were really old were simply
hideous and repulsive. One wretched crone shuffled
through the noisy throng with an air of authority, and
pointing to Boy lying in my lap, cried, " Moolaij, moolay ! "
" Beautiful, beautiful ! " The familiar Malay word fell
pleasantly on my ear, and I was delighted to find some
one through whom I might possibly control the disor
derly bevy around me. I addressed her in Malay. In
stantly my visitors were silent, and waiting in attitudes
of eager attention.
She told me she was one of the many custodians of
the harem. She was a native of Quedah ; and " some
sixty years ago," she and her sister, together with other
young Malay girls, were captured while working in the
20 A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME.
fields by a party of Siamese adventurers. They were
brought to Siam and sold as slaves. At first she mourned
miserably for her home and parents. But while she was
yet young and attractive she became a favorite of the
late Somdetch Oug Yai, father of her present lord, and
bore him two sons, just as " moolay, moolay " as my own
darling. But they were dead. (Here, with the end of
her soiled silk scarf she furtively wiped a tear from her
face, no longer ugly.) And her gracious lord was dead
also ; it was he who gave her this beautiful gold betel-
box.
" But how is it that you are still a slave ? " I asked.
" I am old and ugly and childless : and therefore, to be
trusted by iny dead lord's son, the beneficent prince, upon
whose head be blessings," — clasping her withered hands,
and turning toward that part of the palace where, no
doubt, he was enjoying a " beneficent" nap.
" And now it is my privilege to watch and guard these
favored ones, that they see no man but their lord."
The repulsive uncomeliness of this woman had been
wrought by oppression out of that which must have been
beautiful once ; for the spirit of beauty came back to her
for a moment, with the passing memories that brought
her long-lost treasures with them. In the brutal tragedy
of a slave's experience, — a female slave in the harem of
an Asian despot, — the native angel in her had been
bruised, mutilated, defaced, deformed, but not quite oblit
erated.
Her story ended, the younger women, to whom her
language had been strange, could no longer suppress their
merriment, nor preserve the decorum due to her age and
authority. Again they swarmed about me like bees, ply
ing me pertinaciously with questions, as to my age, hus
band, children, country, customs, possessions ; and pres
ently crowned the inquisitorial performance by asking, in
A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME 21
all seriousness, if I should not like to be the wife of the
prince, their lord, rather than of the terrible Chow-che-
witt.*
Here was a monstrous suggestion that struck me dumb.
Without replying, I rose and shook them off, retiring with
my boy into the inner chamber. But they pursued me
without compunction, repeating the extraordinary "co
nundrum," and dragging the Malay duenna along with
them to interpret my answer. The intrusion provoked
me ; but, considering their beggarly poverty of true life
and liberty, of hopes and joys, and loves and memories,
and holy fears and sorrows, with which a full and true
response might have twitted them, I was ashamed to be
vexed.
Seeing it impossible to rid myself of them, I promised
to answer their question, on condition that they would
leave me for that day. Immediately all eyes were fixed
upon me.
" The prince, your lord, and the king, your Chow-che-
witt, are pagans," I said. "An English, that is a Christian,
woman would rather be put to the torture, chained and
dungeoned for life, or suffer a death the slowest and most
painful you Siamese know, than be the wife of either."
They remained silent in astonishment, seemingly with
held from speaking by an instinctive sentiment of re
spect ; until one, more volatile than the rest, cried,
" What ! not if he gave you all these jewelled rings and
boxes, and these golden things ? "
When the old woman, fearing to offend, whispered this
test question in Malay to me, I laughed at the earnest
eyes around, and said : " No, not even then. I am only
here to teach the royal family. I am not like you. You
have nothing to do but to play and sing and dance for
your master ; but I have to work for my children ; and
* Chow-che-ivitt, — " Trincc of life," — the supreme king.
22 A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME.
one little one is now on the great ocean, and I am very-
sad."
Shades of sympathy, more or less deep, flitted across
the faces of my audience, and for a moment they re
garded me as something they could neither convince nor
comfort nor understand. Then softly repeating Poot-
thoo I Poot-tJioo ! " Dear God ! dear God ! " they quietly
left me. A minute more, and I heard them laughing and
shouting in the halls.
Relieved of my curious and exacting visitors, I lay
down and fell into a deep sleep, from which I was sud
denly awakened, in the afternoon, by the cries of Beebe,
who rushed into the chamber, her head bare, her fine
muslin veil trampled under her feet, and her face dramat
ically expressive of terror and despair. Moonshee, her
husband, ignorant alike of the topography, the language,
and the rules of the place, had by mistake intruded in
the sacred penetralia where lounged the favorite of the
harem, to the lively horror of that shrinking Nourmahal,
and the general wrath of the old women on guard, two
of whom, the ugliest, fiercest, and most muscular, had
dragged him, daft and trembling, to summary inquisition.
I followed Beebe headlong to an open sala, where we
found that respectable servant of the Prophet, his hands
tied, his turban off, woe-begone but resigned ; faithful and
philosophic Moslem that he was, he only waited for his
throat to be cut, since it was his kismut, his perverse
destiny, that had brought him to such a region of Kafirs,
(infidels). Assuring him that there was nothing to fear,
I despatched a messenger in search of the interpreter,
while Beebe wept and protested. Presently an impos
ing personage stalked upon the scene, whose appearance
matched his temper and his conduct. This was the
judge. In vain I strove to explain to him by signs and
gestures that my servant had offended unwittingly ; he
A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME. 23
could not or would not understand me ; but stormed
away at our poor old man, who bore his abuse with the
calm indifference of profound ignorance, having never
before been cursed in a foreign language.
The loafers of the yards and porches shook off their lazy
naps and gathered round us ; and among them came the
interpreter, insolent satisfaction beaming in his bad face.
He coolly declined to interfere, protesting that it was not
his business, and that the judge would be offended if he
offered to take part in the proceedings. Moonshee was
condemned to be stripped, and beaten with twenty strokes.
Here was an end to my patience. Going straight up to
the judge, I told him that if a single lash was laid upon
the old man's back (which was bared as I spoke), he should
suffer tenfold, for I would immediately lay the matter
before the British Consul. Though I spoke in English,
he caught the familiar words " British Consul," and turn
ing to the interpreter, demanded the explanation he
should have listened to before he pronounced sentence.
But even as the interpreter was jabbering away to the un
reasonable functionary, the assembly was agitated with
what the French term a " sensation." Judge, interpreter,
and all fell upon their faces, doubling themselves up ; and
there stood the Premier, who took in the situation at a
glance, ordered Moonshee to be released, and permitted
him at my request to retire to the room allotted to
Beebe. While the slaves were alert in the execution of
these benevolent commands, the interpreter slunk away on
his face and elbows. But the old Moslem, as soon as his
hands were free, picked up his turban, advanced, and laid
it at the feet of his deliverer, with the graceful salutation
of his people, " Peace be with thee, O Vizier of a wise
king ! " The mild and venerable aspect of the Moonshee,
and his snow-white beard falling low upon his breast,
must have inspired the Siamese statesman with abiding
24 A SIAMESE PREMIER AT HOME.
feelings of respect and consideration, for he was ever
afterward indulgent to that Oriental Dominie Sampson of
my little household.
Dinner at the Premier's was composed and served with
the same incongruous blending of the barbaric and the
refined, the Oriental and the European, that characterized
the furniture and adornments of his palace. The saucy
little pages who handled the dishes had cigarettes between
their pouting lips, and from time to time hopped over
the heads of Medusae to expectorate. When I pointed re
proachfully to the double peccadillo, they only laughed
and scampered off. Another detachment of these lads
brought in fruits, and, when they had set the baskets or
dishes on the table, retired to sofas to lounge till we had
dined. But finding I objected to such manners, they gig
gled gayly, performed several acrobatic feats on the carpet,
and left us to wait on ourselves.
Twilight on my pretty piazza. The fiery sun is setting,
and long pencils of color, from palettes of painted glass,
touch with rose and gold the low brow and downcast
eyes and dainty bosom of a bust of Clyte. Beebe and
Moonshee are preparing below in the open air their even
ing meal ; and the smoke of their pottage is borne slowly,
heavily on the hot still air, stirred only by the careless
laughter of girls plunging and paddling in the dimpled
lake. The blended gloom and brightness without enter,
and interweave themselves with the blended gloom and
brightness within, where lights and shadows lie half
asleep and half awake, and life breathes itself sluggishly
away, or drifts on a slumberous stream, toward its ocean
of death.
III.
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTOEY.
BEFORE inducting the reader to more particular ac
quaintance with his Excellency Chow Phya Sri-
Sury Wongse Samuha-P'hra Kralahome, I have thought
that "an abstract and brief chronicle" of the times of
the strange people over whom he is not less than second
in dignity and power, would not be out of place.
In the opinion of Pickering, the Siamese are undoubt
edly Malay ; but a majority of the intelligent Europeans
who have lived long among them regard the native popu
lation as mainly Mongolian. They are generally of me
dium stature, the face broad, the forehead low, the eyes
black, the cheekbones prominent, the chin retreating, the
mouth large, the lips thick, and the beard scanty. In
common with most of the Asiatic races, they are apt
to be indolent, improvident, greedy, intemperate, servile,
cruel, vain, inquisitive, superstitious, and cowardly ; but
individual variations from the more repulsive types are
happily not rare. In public they are scrupulously polite
and decorous according to their own notions of good
manners, respectful to the aged, affectionate to their kin
dred, and bountiful to their priests, of whom more than
twenty thousand are supported by voluntary contribu
tions in Bangkok alone. Marriage is contracted at six
teen for males, and fourteen for females, and polygamy is
the common practice, without limit to the number of
2
26 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
wives except such as may be imposed by the humble
estate or poverty of the husband; the women are gen
erally treated with consideration.
The bodies of the dead are burned ; and the badges of
mourning are white robes for those of the family or kin-
folk who are younger than the deceased, black for those
who are older, and shaven heads for all who are in inferior
degrees connected with the dead, either as descendants,
dependents, servants, or slaves. When a king dies the
entire population, with the exception of very young chil
dren, must display this tonsorial uniform.
Every ancient or famous city of Siam has a story of its
founding, woven for it from tradition or fable ; and each
of these legends is distinguished from the others by
peculiar features. The religion, customs, arts, and litera
ture of a people naturally impart to their annals a spirit
all their own. Especially is this the case in the Orient,
where the most original and suggestive thought is half
disguised in the garb of metaphor, and where, in spite of
vivid fancies and fiery passions, the people affect taci
turnity or reticence, and delight in the metaphysical and
the mystic. Hence the early annals of the Siamese, or
Sajamese, abound in fables of heroes, demigods, giants,
and genii, and afford but few facts of practical value.
Swayed by religious influences, they joined, in the spirit
of the Hebrews, the name of God to the titles of their
rulers and princes, whom they almost deified after
death. But the skeleton sketch of the history of Siam
that follows is of comparatively modern date, and may
be accepted as in the main authentic.
In the year 712 of the Siamese, and 1350 of the Chris
tian era, Phya-Othong founded, near the river Meinam,
about sixty miles from the Gulf of Siam, the city of
Ayudia or Ayuthia (" the Abode of the Gods ") ; at the
same time he assumed the title of P'hra Kama Thibodi.
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 27
This capital and stronghold was continually exposed to
storms of civil war and foreign invasion ; and its turreted
battlements and ponderous gates, with the wide deep moat
spanned by drawbridges, where now is a forest of great
trees, were but the necessary fences behind which court
and garrison took shelter from the tempestuous barbarism
in the midst of which they lived. But before any portion
of the city, except that facing the river, could boast of a
fortified enclosure, hostile enterprises were directed against
it. Birman pirates, ascending the Meinam in formida
ble flotillas, harassed it. Thrice they ravaged the coun
try around ; but on the last of these occasions great num
bers of them were captured and put to cruel death by
P'hraRama Suen, successor to Thibodi, who pursued the
routed remnant to the very citadel of Chiengmai, then a
tributary of the Birman Empire. Having made success
ful war upon this province, and impressed thousands of
Laotian captives, he next turned his arms against Cam
bodia, took the capital by storm, slew every male capable
of bearing arms, and carried off enormous treasures in
plate gold, with which, on his return to his kingdom, he
erected a remarkable pagoda, called to this day "The
Mountain of Gold."
P'hra Kama Suen was succeeded by his son Phya
Earn, who reigned fourteen years, and was assassinated
by his uncle, Inthra Racha, the governor or feudal lord of
the city, who had snatched the reins of government and
sent three of his sons to rule over the northern provinces.
At the death of Inthra Racha, in 780, two of these princes
set out simultaneously, with the design of seizing and
occupying the vacant throne. Mounted on elephants, they
met in the dusk of evening on a bridge leading to the
Royal Palace ; and each instantly divining his brother's
purpose, they dismounted, and with their naked swords
fell upon each other with such fury that both were slain
on the spot.
28 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
The political and social disorganization that prevailed
at this period was aggravated by the vulnerable condition
of the monarchy, then recently transferred to a new line.
Princes of the blood royal were for a long time engaged,
brother against brother, in fierce family feuds. Ayuthia
suffered gravely from these unnatural contentions, but
even more from the universal license and riot that reigned
among the nobility and the proud proprietors of the soil.
In the distracted and enfeebled state of all authority,
royal and magisterial, the fields around remained for many
years untilled ; and the only evidence the land presented
of the abode of man was here and there the bristling den
of some feudal chief, a mere outlaw and dacoit, who rarely
sallied from it but to carry torch and pillage wherever
there was aught to sack or burn.
In 834 the undisputed sovereignty of the kingdom fell
to another P'hra Kama Thibodi, who reigned thirty years,
and is famous in Siamese annals for the casting of a great
image of Buddha, fifty cubits high, of gold very moder
ately alloyed with copper. On an isolated hill, in a sacred
enclosure, he erected for this image a stately temple of
the purest white marble, approached by a graceful flight
of steps. From the ruins of its eastern front, which are
still visible, it appears to have had six columns at either
end and thirteen on each side ; the eastern pediment is
adorned with sculptures, as are also the ten metopes.
P'hra Rama Thibodi was succeeded by his son, P'hra
Racha Kuman, whose reign was short, and chiefly mem
orable for a tremendous conflagration that devastated
Ayuthia. It raged three days, and destroyed more than a
hundred thousand houses.
This monarch left at his death but one son, P'hra Yot-
Fa, a lad of twelve, whose mother, the Queen Sisudah-
Chand, was appointed regent during his minority.
The devil of ambition has rarely possessed the heart
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 29
of an Eastern queen more absolutely than it did that of
this infamous woman, — infamous even in heathen annals.
She is said to have graced her exalted station alike by
the beauty of her person and the charm of her manner ;
but in pursuit of the most arbitrary and audacious pur
poses she moved with the recklessness their nature de
manded, and with equal impatience trampled on friend
and rival. Blind superstition was the only weak point in
her character ; but though her deference to the imaginary
instructions or warnings of the stars was slavish, it does
not seem to have deterred her from any false or cruel
course ; indeed, a cunning astrologer of her court, by
scaring her with visionary perils, contrived to obtain a
monstrous ascendency over her mind, only to plunge her
into crime more deeply than by her own weight of wick
edness she might have sunk. She ordered the secret
assassination of every member of the royal household
(not excepting her mother and sisters), who, however
mildly, opposed her will. Besotted with fear, that fruitful
mother of crime, she ended by putting to death the young
king, her son, and publicly calling her paramour (the court
astrologer, in whose thoughts, she believed, were hidden
all the secrets of divination) to the throne of the P'hra-
batts.
This double crime filled the measure of her impunity.
The nobility revolted. The strength of their faction lay,
not within the palace, which was filled with the queen's
parasites, but with the feudal proprietors of the soil, who,
exasperated by the abominations of the court, only
waited for a chance to crush it. One day, as the queen
and her paramour were proceeding in a barge on their
customary visit to her private pagoda and garden, — a
paradise of all the floral wonders of the tropics, — a no
bleman, who had followed them, hailed the royal gondola,
as if for instructions, and, being permitted to approach,
30 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
suddenly sprang up.on the guilty pair, drew his sword,
and dispatched them both, careless of their loud cries for
help. Almost simultaneously with the performance of
this tragic exploit, the nobles offered the crown to an
uncle of the murdered heir, who had fled from the court
and taken refuge in a monastery. Having accepted it
and assumed the title of Maha-Charapat Eacha-therat,
he invaded Pegu with a hundred thousand men-at-arrns,
five thousand war elephants, and seven thousand horse.
With this mighty host he marched against Henzawadi,
the capital of Pegu, laying waste the country as he went
with fire and sword. The king of Pegu came out to
meet him, accompanied by his romantic and intrepid
queen, Maha Chandra, and supported by the few devoted
followers that on so short a notice he could bring to
gether. In consideration of this great disparity of forces,
the two kings agreed, in the chivalric spirit of the time,
to decide the fortune of the day by single combat.
Hardly had they encountered, when the elephant on
which the king of Pegu was mounted took fright and fled
the field ; but his queen promptly took his place, and
fighting rashly, fell, speared through the right breast.
She was borne off amid the clash of cymbals and flourish
of trumpets that hailed the victor.
Maha-Charapat Eacha-therat was a great prince. His
wisdom, valor, and heroic exploits supplied the native
bards with inspiring themes. By his magnanimity he
extinguished the envy of the neighboring princes and
transformed rivals into friends. Jealous rulers became
his willing vassals, not from fear of his power, but in ad
miration for his virtues. Malacca, Tenasserim, Ligor, Tha-
vai, Martaban, Maulmain, Songkhla, Chantaboon, Phitsa-
nulok, Look-Kho-Thai, Phi-chi, Savan Khalok, Phechit,
Cambodia, and Nakhon Savan were all dependencies of
Siarn under his reign.
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 31
In the year 1568 of the Christian era the Siamese ter
ritory was invaded and laid under tribute by a Birman
king named Mandanahgri, who must have been a warrior
of Napoleonic genius, for he extended his dominion as
far as the confines of China. It is remarkable that the
flower of his army was composed of several thousand Por
tuguese, tried troops in good discipline, commanded by
the noted Don Diego Suanes. These, like the famous
Scotch Legion of Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years'
War, were mercenaries, and doubtless contributed impor
tantly to the success of the Birnian arms. Theirs is by
no means the only case of Portuguese soldiers serving for
hire in the armies of the East. Their commander, Sua
nes, seems to have been a brave and accomplished officer,
and to have been intrusted with undivided control of the
Birmese forces.
Mandanahgri held the queen of Siam and her two sons
as hostages for the payment of the tribute he had levied ;
but the princes were permitted to return to Siam after a
few years of captivity in Birmah, and in 1583 their cap
tor died. His successor struggled with an uncle for pos
session of the throne, and the king of Siam, seizing the
opportunity, declared himself independent ; wherefore a
more formidable army was shortly sent against him, under
command of the eldest son of the king of Birmah. But
one of the young princes who had been led into cap
tivity by Mandanahgri now sat on the throne of Siam.
In his youth he had been styled "the Black Prince," a
title of distinction which seems to have fitted his charac
teristics not less appropriately than it did those of the
English Edward. Undismayed by the strength- and fury
of the enemy, he attacked and routed them in a pitched
battle, killing their leader with his own hands, invaded
Pegu, and besieged its capital ; but was finally compelled
to retire with considerable loss. The Black Prince was
32 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
succeeded by " the White King," who reigned peacefully
for many years.
The next monarch especially worthy of notice is P'hra
Narai, who sent ambassadors to Goa, the most important
of the Portuguese trading-stations in the East Indies,
chiefly to invite the Portuguese of Malacca to establish
themselves in Siam for mutual advantages of trade. The
welcome emissaries were sumptuously entertained, and a
Dominican friar accompanied them on their return, with
costly presents for the king. This friar found P'hra Narai
much more liberal in his ideas than later ambassadors,
even to this day, have found any other ruler of Siam.
He agreed not only to permit all Portuguese merchants
to establish themselves anywhere in his dominions, but to
exempt their goods and wares from duty. The Domini
can monks were likewise invited to build churches and
preach Christianity in Siam.
Soon after this extraordinary display of liberal states
manship P'hra Xarai narrowly escaped death by a strange
conspiracy. Four or five hundred Japanese adventurers
were secretly introduced into the country by an ambitious
feudal proprietor, who had conceived the mad design of
dethroning the monarch and reigning in his stead; but
the king, warned of the planned attack upon the palace,
seized the native conspirator and put him to death. The
Japanese, on the contrary, were enrolled as a kind of
praetorian guard, or janissaries ; in this character, how
ever, their pride and power became so formidable that the
king grew uneasy and disbanded them.
P'hra Narai, from all accounts, was a man to be re
spected and esteemed. The events and the dramatis
pcrsoncc of his reign form a story so romantic, so excep
tional even in Eastern annals, that, but for the undoubted
authenticity of this chapter of Siamese history, it would
be incredible. It was during his reign that the whimsical
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HIST011Y. 33
attempt was made by Louis XIV. to conquer Siam and
proselyte her king. An extraordinary spectacle ! One
of the most licentious monarchs of France, who to the
last breathed an atmosphere poisoned with scepticism,
and more than Buddhism itself subversive of the true
principles of Christianity, is suddenly inspired with an
apparently devout longing to be the instrument of con
verting to the true faith the princes of the East. To this
end he employs that wily, powerful, and indefatigable
body of daring priests, the Jesuits', who were then in
the very ardor of their missionary schemes.
Ostensibly for the purpose of propagating the Gospel,
but with more reality aspiring to extend their subtile in
fluence over all mankind, this society, with means the
most slender and in the face of obstacles the most dis
heartening, have, with indomitable courage and supernat
ural patience, accomplished labors unparalleled in the
achievements of mind. Now, in the wilds of Western
America, taming and teaching races of whose existence
the world of refinement had never heard; now climbing
the icy steeps and tracking the wastes and wildernesses
of Siberia, or with the evangel of John in one hand and
the art of Luke in the other, bringing life to the bodies
and souls of perishing multitudes under a scorching equa
torial sun, — there is not a spot of earth in which Euro
pean civilization has taken root where traces of Jesuit
forethought and careful, patient husbandry may not be
found. So in Siam, we discover a monarch of consum
mate acumen, more European than Asiatic in his ideas,
sedulously cultivating the friendship of these foreign
workers of wonders ; and finally we find a Greek adven
turer officiating as prime minister to this same king, and
conducting his affairs with that ability and success which
must have commanded intellectual admiration, even if
they had not been inspired and promoted by motives of
2* c
34 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
integrity toward the monarch who had so implicitly con
fided in his wisdom and fidelity.
Constantine Phaulkon was the son of respectable par
ents, natives of the island of Cephalonia, where he was
born in 1630. The geography, if not the very name, of
the kingdom whose affairs he was destined to direct was
quite unknown to his compatriots of the Ionian Isles, —
even when as a mariner, wrecked on the coast of Malabar,
he became a fellow-passenger with a party of Siamese
officials, his companions in disaster, who were returning
to their country from an embassy. The facile Greek
quickly learned to talk with his new-found friends in
their own tongue, and by his accomplishments and adroit
ness made a place for himself in their admiration and
influence, so that he was received with flattering con
sideration at the Court of P'hra Narai, and very soon in
vited to take service under government. By his sagacity,
tact, and diligence in the management of all affairs in
trusted to him, he rapidly rose in favor with his patron,
who finally elevated him to the highest post of honor in
the state : he was made premier.
The star of the Cephalonian waif and adventurer had
now mounted to the zenith, and was safe to shine for
many years with unabated brilliancy ; to this day he is
remembered by the expressive term Viclia-yen, " the cool
wisdom." The French priests, elated at his success,
spared no promises or arts to retain him secretly in their
interest. Under circumstances so extraordinary and au
spicious, the plans of the Jesuits for the conversion of
all Eastern Asia were put in execution. From the Vat
ican bishops were appointed, and sent out to Cochin
China, Cambodia, Siam, and Pegu, while the people of
those several kingdoms were yet profoundly ignorant of
the amiable intentions of the Pope. Francis Pallu, M.
De la Motte Lambert, and Ignatius Cotolendy were the
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 35
respective exponents of this pious idea, under the impos
ing titles of Bishops of Heliopolis, Borytus, Byzantium,
and Metellopolis, — all Frenchmen, for Louis XIV. in
sisted that the glory of the enterprise should be ascribed
exclusively to France and to himself.
But all their efforts to convert the king were of no
avail. The Jesuits, however, opened schools, and have
ever since labored assiduously and with success to in
troduce the ideas and the arts of Europe into those
countries.
After some years P'hra Narai sent an embassy to the
Court of Louis, who was so sensible of the flattery that
he immediately reciprocated with an embassy of his own,
with more priests, headed by the Chevalier De Chaumont
and the Pere Tachard. The French fleet of five ships cast
anchor in the Meinam on the 27th of September, 1G87,
and the Chevalier and his reverend colleague, attended
by Jesuits, were promptly and graciously received by the
king, who, however, expressed his " fears " that the chief
object of their mission might not prove so easy of attain
ment as they had been led to believe. As for Phaulkon,
he had adroitly deceived the Jesuits from the first, and
made all parties instruments to promote his Own shrewd
and secret plans.
De Chaumont, disheartened by his failure, sailed back
to France, where he arrived in 1688, in the height of the
agitation attending the English Eevolution of that year.
Phaulkon, finding that he could no longer conceal from
the Jesuits the king's repugnance to their plans for his
conversion, placed himself under their direction and con
trol ; for though he had not as yet conceived the idea of
seizing upon the crown, it was plain that he aspired to
honors higher than the premiership. Then rumors of
disaffection among the nobles were diligently propagated
by the French priests, who, although not sufficiently pow-
36 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
erf ul to dethrone the king, were nevertheless dangerous
inciters of rebellion among the common people.
Meanwhile the king of Johore, then a tributary of Siam,
instigated by the Dutch, who, from the first, had watched
with jealousy the machinations of the French, sent envoys
to P'hra Narai, to advise the extermination or expulsion
of the French, and to proffer the aid of his troops ; but
the proposition was rejected with indignation.
These events were immediately followed by another,
known in Siamese history as the Eevolt of the Macassars,
which materially promoted the ripening of the revolu
tion of which the French had sown the seeds. Celebes, a
large, irregular island east of Borneo, includes a district
known as Macassar, the ruler of which had been arbi
trarily dethroned by the Dutch ; and the sons of the
injured monarch, taking refuge in Siam, secretly encour
aged the growing enmity of the nobles against the
French.
Meanwhile Phaulkon, by his address, and skilful
management of public affairs, continued to exercise par
amount influence over the mind of the king. He per
suaded P'hra Narai to send another embassy to France,
which arrived happily (the former having been ship
wrecked off the Cape of Good Hope) at the Court of Louis
XIV. in 1689: He also diligently and ably advanced the
commercial strength of the country ; merchants from all
parts of the world were invited to settle in Siam, and fac
tories of every nation were established along the banks
of the Meinam. Both Ayudia and Lophaburee became
busy and flourishing. He was careful to keep the people
employed, and applied himself with vigor to improving
the agriculture of the country. Rice, sugar, corn, and
palm-oil constituting the most fruitful and regular source
of revenue, he wisely regulated the traffic in those staples,
and was studious to promote the security and happiness
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 37
of the great body of the population engaged or concerned
in their production. The laws he framed were so sound
and stable, and at the same time so wisely conformable
to the interests alike of king and subject, that to this
day they constitute the fundamental law of the land.
Phaulkon designed and built the palaces at Lopha-
buree, consisting of two lofty edilices, square, with pillars
on all sides ; each pillar was made to represent a succes
sion of shafts by the intervention of salient blocks, form
ing capitals to what they surmounted and pedestals to
what they supported. The apartments within were gor
geously gilt and sumptuously furnished. There yet re
mains, in remarkable preservation, a vermilion chamber
looking toward the east; though, otherwise, a forest of
stately trees and several broken arches alone mark the
spot where dwelt in regal splendor this foreign favorite
of P'hra Narai.
He also erected the famous castle on the west of the
town, on a piece of ground, near the north bank of the
river, which formerly belonged to a Buddhist monastery.
Finally, to keep off the Birman invaders, he built a
wall, surmounted along its whole extent by a parapet,
and fortified with towers at regular intervals of forty
fathoms, as well as by four larger ones at its extremities
on the banks of the river, below the two bridges. Its
gates appear to have been twelve or thirteen in number,
and the extent of the southern portion is fixed at two
thousand fathoms. Suburban villages still exist on both
sides of the river, and, beyond these, the religious build
ings, which have been restored, but which now display
the fantastic rather than the grand style which distin
guished the architecture of this consummate Grecian,
whom the people name with wonder, — all marvellous
works being by them attributed to gods, genii, devils, or
the " Vicha-yen."
38 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY.
But the luxury in which the haughty statesman rev
elled, his towering ambition, and the wealth he lav
ished on his private abodes, joined to the lofty, conde
scending air he assumed toward the nobles, soon provoked
their jealous inurmurings against him and his too partial
master ; and when, at last, the king, falling ill, repaired
to the premier's palace at Lophaburee, some of the more
disaffected nobles, headed by a natural son of P'hra Narai
and the two princes of Macassar, forced their way into
the palace to slay the monarch. But the brave old man,
at a glance divining their purpose, leaped from his couch
and, seizing his sword, threw himself upon it, and died
as his assassins entered.
In the picturesque drama of Siamese history no figure
appears so truly noble and brilliant as this king, not
merely renowned by the glory of his military exploits
and the happy success of his more peaceful undertakings,
but beloved for his affectionate concern for the welfare of
his subjects, his liberality, his moderation, his modesty,
his indifference to the formal honors due to his royal
state, and (what is most rare in Asiatic character) his
sincere aversion to flattery, his shyness even toward de
served and genuine praise.
Turning from the corpse of the king, the baffled regi
cides dashed at the luxurious apartment where Phaulkon
slumbered, as was his custom of an afternoon, unattended
save by his fair young daughter Constantia. Breaking in,
they tore the sleeping father from the arms of his ago
nized child, who with piteous implorings offered her life
for his, bound him with cords, dragged him to the woods
beyond his garden, and there, within sight of the lovely
little Greek chapel he had erected for his private devo
tions, first tortured him like fiends, and then, dispatching
him, flung his body into a pit. His daughter, following
them, clung fast to her father, and, though her heart bled
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 39
and her brain grew numb between the gashes and the
groans, she still cheered him with her passionate endear
ments ; and, holding before his eyes a cross of gold that al
ways hung on her bosom, inspired him to die like a brave
man and a Christian. After that the lovely heroine was
dragged into slavery and concubinage by the infamous
Chow Dua, one of the bloodiest of the gang.
Even pagan chroniclers do not fail to render homage to
so brave a man, of whom they tell that " he bore all with
a fortitude and defiance that astounded the monsters who
slew him, and convinced them that he derived his super
natural courage and contempt of pain from the miracu
lous virtues of his daughter's golden cross."
After the death of the able premier, the Birmese
again overran the land, laying waste the fields, and be
sieging the city of Ayuthia for two years. Finding they
could not reduce it by famine, they tried flames, and
the burning is said to have lasted two whole months.
One of the feudal lords of Siam, Phya Tak, a Chinese
adventurer, who had amassed wealth, and held the office
of governor of the northern provinces under the late king,
seeing the impending ruin of the country, assembled his
personal followers and dependants, and with about a
thousand hardy and resolute warriors retired to the moun
tain fastness of Naghon Najok, whence from time to time
he swooped down to harass the encampments of the
Birmese, who were almost invariably worsted in the
skirmishes he provoked. He then moved upon Bang-
plasoi, and the people of that place came out with gifts
of treasure and hailed him as their sovereign. Thence
he sailed to Eajong, strengthened his small force with
volunteers in great numbers, marched against Chanta-
boon, whose governor had disputed his authority, and
executed that indiscreet official; levied another large
army; built and equipped a hundred vessels of war;
40 A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTOliY.
and set sail — a part of his army preceding him over
land — for Kankhoa, on the confines of Cochin China,
which place he brought to terms in less than three hours.
Thence he pushed on to Cambodia, and arriving there on
the Siamese Sabato, or Sabbath, he issued a solemn proc
lamation to his army, assuring them that he would that
evening worship in the temple of the famous emerald
idol, P'hra Keau. Every man was ordered to arm as if
for battle, but to wear the sacred robe, — white for the
laity, yellow for the clergy ; and all the priests who fol
lowed his fortunes were required to lead the way into
the grand temple through the southern portico, over
which stood a triple-headed tower. Then the conqueror,
having prepared himself by fasting and purification, clad
in his sacred robes and armed to the teeth, followed and
made his words good.
Almost his first act was to send his ships to the adja
cent provinces for supplies of rice and grain, which he
dispensed so bountifully to the famishing people that
they gratefully accepted his rule.
This king is described as an enthusiastic and indefati
gable warrior, scorning palaces, and only happy in camp
or at the head of his army. His people found in him a
true friend, he was ever kind and generous to the poor,
and to his soldiers he paid fivefold the rates of former
reigns. But toward the nobles he was haughty, rude,
exacting. It is supposed that his prime minister, fearing
to oppose him openly, corrupted his chief concubine, and
with her assistance drugged his food ; so that he was ren
dered insane, and, imagining himself a god, insisted that
sacrifices and offerings should be made to him, and began
to levy upon the nobility for enormous sums, often put
ting them to the torture to extort treasure. Instigated
by their infuriated lords, the people now rebelled against
their lately idolized master, and attacked him in his pal-
A SKETCH OF SIAMESE HISTORY. 41
ace, from which lie fled by a secret passage to an ad
joining monastery, in the disguise of a priest. But the
premier, to whom he was presently betrayed, had him
put to death, on the pretext that he might cause still
greater scandal and disaster, but in reality to establish
himself in undisputed possession of the throne, which he
now usurped under the title of P'hra-Phuthi-Chow-Luang,
and removed the palace from the west to the east bank
of the Meinam. During his reign the Birmese made
several attempts to invade the country, but were invaria
bly repulsed with loss.
This brings us to the uneventful reign of Phen-den-
Klang ; and by his death, in 1825, to the beginning of the
story of his Majesty, Maha Mongkut, the late supreme
king, and my employer, with whom, in these pages, we
shall have much to do.
IV.
HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAEEM AND HELPMEET.
~TT7~HEN the Senabawdee, or Royal Council, by ele-
V V vating to the throne the priest-prince Ghowfa
Mongkut, frustrated the machinations of the son of his
predecessor, they by the same stroke crushed the secret
hopes of Chow Phya Sri Sury Wongse, the present pre
mier. It is whispered to this day — for no native, prince
or peasant, may venture to approach the subject openly —
that, on the day of coronation, his Excellency retired to his
private chambers, and there remained, shut up with his
chagrin and grief, for three days. On the fourth, arrayed
in his court robes and attended by a numerous retinue,
he presented himself at the palace to take part in the
ceremonies with which the coronation was celebrated.
The astute young king, who in his priestly character had
penetrated many state secrets, advanced to greet him, and
with the double purpose of procuring the adherence and
testing the fidelity of this discontented and wavering
son of his stanch old champion, the Duke Sonidetch
Ong Yai, appointed him on the spot to the command of
the army, under the title of Phya P'hra Kralahome.
This flattering distinction, though it did not imme
diately beguile him from his moodiness, for a time di
verted his dangerous fancies into channels of activity,
and he found a safe expression for his annoyance in a
useful restlessness. But after he had done more than any
of his predecessors to remodel and perfect the army, he
HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET. 43
relapsed into morbid melancholy, from which he was once
more aroused by the call of his royal master, who invited
him to share the labors and the honors of government in
the highest civil office, that of prime minister. He ac
cepted, and has ever since shown himself prolific in
devices to augment the revenue, secure the co-operation
of the nobility, and confirm his own power. His re
markable executive faculty, seconding the enlightened
policy of the king, would doubtless have inaugurated a
golden age for his country, but for the aggressive med
dling of French diplomacy in the quarrels between the
princes of Cochin China and Cambodia ; by which exas
perating measure Siam is in the way to lose one of her
richest possessions,* and may in time become, herself, the
brightest and most costly jewel in the crown of France.
Such was Chow Phya Sri Sury Wongse when I was
first presented to him : a natural king among the dusky
forms that surrounded him, the actual ruler of that semi-
barbarous realm, and the prime contriver of its arbitrary
policy. Black, but comely, robust, and vigorous, neck
short and thick, nose large and nostrils wide, eyes inquisi
tive and penetrating, his was the massive brain proper
to an intellect deliberate and systematic. Well found in
the best idioms of his native tongue, he expressed strong,
discriminative thoughts in words at once accurate and
abundant. His only vanity was his English, with which
he so interlarded his native speech, as often to impart the
effect of levity to ideas that, in themselves, were grave,
judicious, and impressive.
Let me conduct the reader into one of the saloons of
the palace, where we shall find this intellectual sensualist
in the moral relaxation of his harem, with his latest pets
and playthings about him.
Peering into a twilight, studiously contrived, of dimly-
* Cambodia.
44 HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET.
lighted and suggestive shadows, we discover in the centre
of the hall a long line of girls with skins of olive, — crea
tures who in years and physical proportions are yet but
children, but by training developed into women and ac
complished actresses. There are some twenty of them, in
transparent draperies with golden girdles, their arms and
bosoms, wholly nude, flashing, as they wave and heave,
with barbaric ornaments of gold. The heads are modestly
inclined, the hands are humbly folded, and the eyes droop
timidly beneath long lashes. Their only garment, the
lower skirt, floating in light folds about their limbs, is of
very costly material bordered heavily with gold. On the
ends of their fingers they wear long " nails " of gold, taper
ing sharply like the claws of a bird. The apartment is
illuminated by means of candelabras, hung so high that
the light falls in a soft hazy mist on the tender faces
and pliant forms below.
Another group of maidens, comely and merry, sit be
hind musical instruments, of so great variety as to recall
the " cornet, flute, sackbut, harp, psaltery, and dulcimer "
of Scripture. The " head wife " of the premier, earnestly
engaged in creaming her lips, reclines apart on a dais,
attended by many waiting-women.
From the folds of a great curtain a single flute opens
the entertainment with low tender strains, and from the
recesses twelve damsels appear, bearing gold and silver
fans, with which, seated in order, they fan the central
group.
Now the dancers, a burst of joyous music being the
signal, form in two lines, and simultaneously, with mili
tary precision, kneel, fold and raise their hands, and bow
till their foreheads touch the carpet before their lord.
Then suddenly springing to their feet, they describe a
succession of rapid and intricate circles, tapping the car
pet with their toes in time to the music. Next follows a
HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET 45
miracle of art, such as may be found only among pupils
of the highest physical training ; a dance in which every
motion is poetry, every attitude an expression of love,
even rest but the eloquence of passion overcome by its
own fervor. The music swelling into a rapturous tumult
preludes the choral climax, wherein the dancers, raising
their delicate feet, and curving their arms and fingers in
seemingly impossible flexures, sway like withes of willow,
and agitate all the muscles of the body like the fluttering
of leaves in a soft breeze. Their eyes glow as with an
inner light ; the soft brown complexion, the rosy lips half
parted, the heaving bosom, and the waving arms, as they
float round and round in wild ecldies of dance, impart to
them the aspect of fair young fiends.
And there sits the Kralahome, like the idol of ebony
before the demon had entered it ! while around him these
elfin worshippers, with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes,
tossing arms and panting bosoms, whirl in their witching
waltz. He is a man to be wondered at, — stony and grim,
his huge hands resting on his knees in statuesque repose,
as though he supported on his well-poised head the whole
weight of the Malm Mongkut * itself, while at his feet
these brown leaves of humanity lie quivering.
Is it all maya, — delusion ? I open wide my eyes, then
close them, then open them again. There still lie the
living puppets, not daring to look up to the face of their
silent god, where scorn and passion contend for place.
The dim lights, the shadows blending with them, the fine
harmony of colors, the wild harmony of sounds, the fan
tastic phantoms, the overcoming sentiment, all the poetry
and the pity of the scene, — the formless longing, the un
defined sense of wrong ! Poor things, poor things !
The prime minister of Siam enjoys no exemption from
that mocking law which condemns the hero strutting on
* "The Mighty Crown."
46 HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET.
the stage of the world to cut but a sorry figure at home.
Toward these helpless slaves of his nod his deportment
was studiously ungracious and mean. No smile of pleased
surprise or approbation ever brightened his gloomy coun
tenance. True, the fire of his native ardor burns there
still, but through no crevice of the outward man may one
catch a glimpse of its light. Though he rage as a fiery
furnace within, externally he is calm as a lake, too deep
to be troubled by the skipping, singing brooks that flow
into it. Piising automatically, he abruptly retired, bored.
And those youthful, tender forms, glowing and panting
there, — in what glorious robes might not their proper
loveliness have arrayed them, if only their hearts had
looked upward in freedom, and not, like their trained
eyes, downward in blind homage.
Koon Ying Phan (literally, " The Lady in One Thou
sand " ) was the head wife of the Premier. He married
her, after repudiating the companion of his more grateful
years, the mother of his only child, a son — the legiti
macy of whose birth he doubted, and so, for a grim jest,
named the lad My Chi, " Not So." He would have put
the mother to death, but finding no real grounds for his
suspicion, let her off with a public " putting away." The
divorced woman, having nothing left but her disowned
baby, carefully changed the My Chi to Ny Chi ( " Not
So " to " Master So "), — a cunning trick of pride, but a
doubtful improvement.
Koon Ying Phan had neither beauty nor grace ; but
her habits were domestic, and her temper extremely mild.
When I first knew her she was perhaps forty years old, —
stout, heavy, dark, — her only attraction the gentle ex
pression of her eyes and mouth. Around her pretty resi
dence, adjoining the Premier's palace, bloomed the most
charming garden I saw in Siam, with shrubberies, foun-
HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET. 47
tains, and nooks, designed by a true artist; though the
work of the native florists -is usually fantastic and gro
tesque, with an excess of dwarfed trees in Chinese vases.
There was, besides, a cool, shaded walk, leading to a more
extensive garden, adorned with curious lattice-work, and
abounding in shrubs of great variety and beauty. Koon
Ying Phan had a lively love for flowers, which she styled
the children of her heart ; " for my lord is childless," she
whispered.
In her apartments the same subdued lights and mellow
half- tints prevailed that in her husband's saloons im
parted a pensive sentiment to the place. There were
neither carpets nor mirrors ; and the only articles of fur
niture were some sofa-beds, low marble couches, tables,
and a few arm-chairs, but all of forms antique and deli
cate. The combined effect was one of delicious coolness,
retirement, and repose, even despite the glaring rays that
strove to invade the sweet refuge through the silken
window-nets.
This lady, to whom belonged the undivided supervision
of the premier's household, was kind to the younger
women of her husband's harem, in whose welfare she
manifested a most amiable interest, — living among them
happily, as a mother among her daughters, sharing their
confidences, and often pleading their cause with her lord
and theirs, over whom she exercised a very cautious but
positive influence.
I learned gladly and with pride to admire and love
this lady, to accept her as the type of a most precious
truth. For to behold, even afar off, " silent upon a peak "
of sympathy, the ocean of love and pathos, of passion and
patience, on which the lives of these our pagan sisters
drift, is to be gratefully sensible of a loving, pitying, and
sufficing Presence, even in the darkness of error, super
stition, slavery, and death.
48 HIS EXCELLENCY'S HAREM AND HELPMEET.
Shortly after her marriage, Koon Ying Phan, moved
partly by compassion for the wrongs of her predecessor,
partly by the " aching void " of her own life, adopted the
disowned son of the premier, and called him, with re
proachful significance, P'hra Nah Why, " the Lord en
dures." And her strong friend, Nature, who had already
knit together, by nerve and vein and bone and sinew,
the father and the child, now came to her aid, and united
them by the finer but scarcely weaker ties of habit and
companionship and home affections.
Y.
THE TEMPLES OF THE SLEEPING AND THE
EMEEALD IDOLS.
THE day had come for my presentation to the su
preme king. After much preliminary talk between
the Kralahome and myself, through the medium of the
interpreter, it had been arranged that my straightforward
friend, Captain B , should conduct us to the royal
palace, and procure the interview. Our cheerful escort
arrived duly, and we proceeded up the river, — my boy
maintaining an ominous silence all the while, except
once, when he shyly confessed he was afraid to go.
At the landing we found a large party of priests, some
bathing, some wringing their yellow garments ; graceful
girls balancing on their heads vessels of water ; others,
less pleasing, carrying bundles of grass, or baskets of
fruit and nuts ; noblemen in gilded sedans, borne on
men's shoulders, hurrying toward the palace ; in the dis
tance a troop of horsemen, with long glittering spears.
Passing the covered gangway at the landing, we came
upon a clean brick road, bounded by two high walls, the
one on the left enclosing the abode of royalty, the other
the temple Watt Poh, where reposes in gigantic state
the wondrous Sleeping Idol. Imagine a reclining figure
one hundred and fifty feet long and forty feet high, en
tirely overlaid with plate gold ; the soles of its monstrous
feet covered with bass-reliefs inlaid with mother-of-pearl
and chased with gold; each separate design distinctly
3 D
50 THE TEMPLES OF THE SLEEPING
representing one of the many transmigrations of Buddha
whereby he obtained Niphan. On the nails are graven
his divine attributes, ten in number :
1. Arahang, — Immaculate, Pure, Chaste.
2. Sam ma Sam-Putho, — Cognizant of the laws of
Nature, Infallible, Unchangeable, True.
3. Yicliaranah Sampanoh, — Endowed with all Knowl
edge, all Science.
4. Lukha-tho, — Excellence, Perfection.
5. Lok-havi-tho, — Cognizant of the mystery of Crea
tion.
6. Annutharo, — Inconceivably Pure, without Sin.
7. Purisah tham-mah Sarathi, — Unconquerable, In
vincible, before whom the angels bow.
8. Sassahdah, — Father of Beatitude, Teacher of the
ways to bliss.
9. Poodh-tho, — Endowed with boundless Compassion,
Pitiful, Tender, Loving, Merciful, Benevolent.
10. Pak-havah, — Glorious, endowed with inconceivable
Merit, Adorable.
Leaving this temple, we approached a low circular fort
near the palace, — a miniature model of a great citadel,
with bastions, battlements, and towers, showing confusedly
over a crenellated wall. Entering by a curious wooden
gate, bossed with great flat-headed nails, we reached by
a stony pathway the stables (or, more correctly, the pal
ace) of the White Elephant, where the huge creature —
indebted for its " whiteness " to tradition rather than to
nature — is housed royally. Passing these, we next
came to the famous Watt P'hra Ke'au, or temple of the
Emerald Idol.
An inner wall separates this temple from the military
depot attached to the palace ; but it is connected by a
secret passage with the most private apartments of his
Majesty's harem, which, enclosed on all sides, is accessi-
AND THE EMERALD IDOLS, 51
ble only to women. The temple itself is unquestionably
one of the most remarkable and beautiful structures of
its class in the Orient ; the lofty octagonal pillars, the
quaint Gothic doors and windows, the tapering and gilded
roofs, are carved in an infinite variety of emblems, the
lotos and the palm predominating. The adornment of
the exterior is only equalled in its profusion by the pic
torial and hieroglyphic embellishment within. The ceil
ing is covered with mythological figures and symbols..
Most conspicuous among the latter are the luminous
circles, resembling the mystic orb of the Hindoos, and
representing the seven constellations known to the an
cients ; these revolve round a central sun in the form of
a lotos, called by the Siamese Dok Atliit (sun-flower), be
cause it expands its leaves to the rising sun and contracts
them as he sets. On the cornices are displayed the twelve
signs of the zodiac.
The altar is a wonder of dimensions and splendor, — a
pyramid one hundred feet high, terminating in a fine
spire of gold, and surrounded on every side by idols, all
curious and precious, from the bijou image in sapphire
to the colossal statue in plate gold. A series of trophies
these, gathered from the triumphs of Buddhism over the
proudest forms of worship in the old pagan world. In
the pillars that surround the temple, and the spires that
taper far aloft, may be traced types and emblems bor
rowed from the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec, the proud
fane of Diana at Ephesus, the shrines of the Delian
Apollo ; but the Brahminical symbols and interpretations
prevail. Strange that it should be so, with a sect that
suffered by the slayings and the outcastings of a ruthless
persecution, at the hands of their Brahmin fathers, for the
cause of restoring the culture of that simple and pure
philosophy which flourished before pantheism !
The floor is paved with diamonds of polished brass,
52 THE TEMPLES OF THE SLEEPING
which reflect the light of tall tapers that have burned on
for more than a hundred years, so closely is the sacred
fire watched. The floods of light and depths of shadow
about the altar are extreme, and the effect overwhelm
ing.
The Emerald Idol is about twelve inches high and
eight in width. Into the virgin gold of which its hair
and collar are composed must have been stirred, while the
metal was yet molten, crystals, topazes, sapphires, rubies,
onyxes, amethysts, and diamonds, — the stones crude, or
rudely cut, and blended in such proportions as might
enhance to the utmost imaginable limit the beauty and
the cost of the adored effigy. The combination is as har
monious as it is splendid. No wonder it is commonly
believed that Buddha himself alighted on the spot in the
form of a great emerald, and by a flash of lightning
conjured the glittering edifice and altar in an instant
from the earth, to house and throne him there !
On either side of the eastern entrance — called Patoo
Nyam, " The Beautiful Gate " — stands a modern statue ;
one of Saint Peter, with flowing mantle and sandalled
feet, in an attitude of sorrow, as when " he turned away
his face and wept " ; the other of Ceres, scattering flowers.
The western entrance, which admits only ladies, is styled
Patoo Thavtidali, " The Angels' Gate," and is guarded by
genii of ferocious aspect.
At a later period, visiting this temple in company with
the king and his family, I called his Majesty's attention
to the statue at the Beautiful Gate, as that of a Christian
saint with whose story he was not unfamiliar. Turning
quickly to his children, and addressing them gently, he
bade them salute it reverently. " It is Mam's P'hra," *
he said ; whereupon the tribe of little ones folded their
hands devoutly, and made obeisance before the effigy of
Saint Peter.
* Saint, or Lord.
THE BEAUTIFUL GATE OF THE TEMPLE.
AND THE EMERALD IDOLS. 53
As often as my thought reverts to this inspiring shrine,
reposing in its lonely loveliness amid the shadows and
the silence of its consecrated groves, I cannot find it in
my heart to condemn, however illusive the object, but
rather I rejoice to admire and applaud, the bent of that
devotion which could erect so proud and beautiful a fane
in the midst of moral surroundings so ignoble and un
lovely, — a spiritual remembrance perhaps older and
truer than paganism, ennobling the pagan mind with the
idea of an architectural Sabbath, so to speak, such as a
heathen may purely enjoy and a Christian may not wisely
despise.
VI.
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
IN 1825 a royal prince of Siam (his birthright wrested
from him, and his life imperilled) took refuge in a
Buddhist monastery and assumed the yellow garb of a
priest. His father, commonly known as Phen-den-Klang,
first or supreme king of Siam, had just died, leaving this
prince, Chowfa Mongkut, at the age of twenty, lawful heir
to the crown ; for he was the eldest son of the acknowl
edged queen, and therefore by courtesy and honored cus
tom, if not by absolute right, the legitimate successor to
the throne of the P'hra-batts.* But he had an elder half-
brother, who, through the intrigues of his mother, had
already obtained control of the royal treasury, and now,
with the connivance, if not by the authority, of the Sena-
bawdee, the Grand Council of the kingdom, proclaimed
himself king. He had the grace, however, to promise his
plundered brother — such royal promises being a cheap
form of propitiation in Siam — to hold the reins of gov
ernment only until Chowfa Mongkut should be of years
and strength and skill to manage them. But, once firmly
seated on the throne, the usurper saw in his patient but
proud and astute kinsman only a hindrance and a peril in
the path of his own cruder and fiercer aspirations. Hence
the forewarning and the flight, the cloister and the yellow
robes. And so the usurper continued to reign, unchal
lenged by any claim from the king that should be, until
* The Golden-footed.
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS. 55
March, 1851, when, a mortal illness having overtaken
him, he convoked the Grand Council of princes and
nobles around his couch, and proposed his favorite son as
his successor. Then the safe asses of the court kicked
the dying lion with seven words of sententious scorn, —
" The crown has already its rightful owner " ; whereupon
the king literally cursed himself to death, for it was
almost in the convulsion of his chagrin and rage that he
came to his end, on the 3d of April.
In Siam there is no such personage as an heir-apparent
to the throne, in the definite meaning and positive value
which attaches to that phrase in Europe, — no prince
with an absolute and exclusive title, by birth, adoption,
or nomination, to succeed to the crown. And while it is
true that the eldest living son of a Siamese sovereign by
his queen or queen consort is recognized by all custom,
ancient and modern, as the probable successor to the high
seat of his royal sire, he cannot be said to have a clear
and indefeasible right to it, because the question of his
accession has yet to be decided by the electing voice of
the Senabawdee, in whose judgment he may be ineligible,
by reason of certain physical, mental, or moral disabili
ties, — as extreme youth, effeminacy, imbecility, intem
perance, profligacy. Nevertheless, the election is popu
larly expected to result in the choice of the eldest son of
the queen, though an interregnum or a regency is a con
tingency by no means unusual. .
It was in view of this jurisdiction of the Senabawdee,
exercised in deference to a just and honored usage, that
the voice of the oracle fell upon the ear of the dying
monarch with a disappointing and offensive significance ;
for he well knew who was meant by the "rightful owner"
of the crown. Hardly had he breathed his last when, in
spite of the busy intrigues of his eldest son (whom we
find described in the Bangkok Recorder of July 26, 1866,
56 THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
as "most honorable and promising"), in spite of the
bitter vexation of his lordship Chow Pliya Sri Sury
Wongse, so soon to be premier, the prince Chowfa Mong-
kut dolled his sacerdotal robes, emerged from his cloister,
and Avas crowned, with the title of Somdetch Phra Para-
mendr Maha Mongkut.*
For twenty-five years had the true heir to the throne
of the P'hra-batts, patiently biding his time, lain perdu in
his monastery, diligently devoting himself to the study of
Sanskrit, Pali, theology, history, geology, chemistry, and
especially astronomy. He had been a familiar visitor at
the houses of the American missionaries, two of whom (Dr.
House and Mr. Mattoon) were, throughout his reign and
life, gratefully revered by him for that pleasant and prof
itable converse which helped to unlock to him the secrets
of European vigor and advancement, and to make straight
and easy the paths of knowledge he had started upon.
Not even the essential arrogance of his Siamese nature
could prevent him from accepting cordially the happy in
fluences these good and true men inspired ; and doubtless
he would have gone more than half-way to meet them,
but for the dazzle of the golden throne in the distance
which arrested him midway between Christianity and
Buddhism, between truth and delusion, between light and
darkness, between life and death.
In the Oriental tongues this progressive king was
eminently proficient ; and toward priests, preachers, and
teachers, of all creeds, sects, and sciences, an enlightened
exemplar of tolerance. It was likewise his peculiar
vanity to pass for an accomplished English scholar, and
to this end he maintained in his palace at Bangkok a pri
vate printing establishment, with fonts of English type,
which, as may be perceived presently, he was at no loss
to keep in " copy." Perhaps it was the printing-office
* Duke, and royal bearer of the great crown.
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS. 57
which suggested, quite naturally, an English governess for
the 6lite of his wives and concubines, and their offspring,
— in number amply adequate to the constitution of a
royal school, and in material most attractively fresh and
romantic. Happy thought ! "Wherefore, behold me, just
after sunset on a pleasant day in April, 1862, on the
threshold of the outer court of the Grand Palace, ac
companied by my own brave little boy, and escorted by a
compatriot.
A flood of light sweeping through the spacious Hall of
Audience displayed a throng of noblemen in waiting.
None turned a glance, or seemingly a thought, on us, and,
my child being tired and hungry, I urged Captain B —
to present us without delay. At once we mounted the
marble steps, and entered the brilliant hall unannounced.
Ranged on the carpet were, many prostrate, mute, and mo
tionless forms, over whose heads to step was a temptation
as drolly natural as it was dangerous. His Majesty spied
us quickly, and advanced abruptly, petulantly screaming,
"Who? who? who ?"
Captain B — - (who, by the by, is a titled nobleman of
Siam) introduced me as the English governess, engaged for
the royal family. The king shook hands with us, and im
mediately proceeded to march up and down in quick step,
putting one foot before the other with mathematical precis
ion, as if under drill. " Forewarned, forearmed ! " my friend
whispered that I should prepare myself for a sharp cross-
questioning as to my age, my husband, children, and other
strictly personal concerns. Suddenly his Majesty, having
cogitated sufficiently in his peculiar manner, with one long
final stride halted in front of us, and, pointing straight at
me with his forefinger, asked, " How old shall you be ? "
Scarcely able to repress a smile at a proceeding so ab
surd, and with my sex's distaste for so serious a question,
I demurely replied, " One hundred and fifty years old."
3*
58 THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
Had I made myself much younger, he might have ridi
culed or assailed me ; but now he stood surprised and
embarrassed for a few moments, then resumed Ids queer
march ; and at last, beginning to perceive the jest, coughed,
laughed, coughed again, and in a high, sharp key asked,
" In what year were you borned ? "
Instantly I struck a mental balance, and answered, as
gravely as I could, " In 1788."
At this point the expression of his Majesty's face was
indescribably comical. Captain B slipped behind a
pillar to laugh ; but the king only coughed, with a sig
nificant emphasis that startled me, and addressed a few
words to his prostrate courtiers, who smiled at the carpet,
— all except the prime minister, who turned to look at
me. But his Majesty was not to be baffled so : again he
marched with vigor, and then returned to the attack with
4lan.
" How many years shall you be married ? "
" For several years, your Majesty."
He fell into a brown study ; then, laughing, rushed at
me, and demanded triumphantly : —
" Ha ! How many grandchildren shall you now have ?
Ha, ha ! How many ? How many ? Ha, ha, ha ! "
Of course we all laughed with him ; but the general
hilarity admitted of a variety of constructions.
Then suddenly he seized my hand, and dragged me,
nolens wlcns, my little Louis holding fast by my skirt,
through several sombre passages, along which crouched
duennas, shrivelled and grotesque, and many youthful
women, covering their faces, as if blinded by the splendor
of the passing Majesty. At length he stopped before one
of the many-curtained recesses, and, drawing aside the
hangings, disclosed a lovely, childlike form. He stooped
and took her hand, (she naively hiding her face), and
placing it in mine, said, " This is my wife, the Lady Ttilap.
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS. 59
She desires to be educated in English. She is as pleas
ing for her talents as for her beauty, and it is our pleas
ure to make her a good English scholar. You shall edu
cate her for me."
I replied that the office would give me much pleasure ;
for nothing could be more eloquently winning than the
modest, timid bearing of that tender young creature in
the presence of her lord. She laughed low and pleasantly
as he translated my sympathetic words to her, and seemed
so enraptured with the graciousness of his act that I took
my leave of her with a sentiment of profound pity.
He led me back by the way we had come ; and now we
met many children, who put my patient boy to much
childish torture for the gratification of their startled curi
osity.
" I have sixty-seven children," said his Majesty, when
we had returned to the Audience Hall. " You shall edu
cate them, and as many of my wives, likewise, as may
wish to learn English. And I have much correspondence
in which you must assist me. And, moreover, I have
much difficulty for reading and translating French letters ;
for French are fond of using gloomily deceiving terms.
You must undertake ; and you shall make all their murky
sentences and gloomily deceiving propositions clear to me.
And, furthermore, I have by every mail foreign letters
whose writing is not easily read by me. You shall copy
on round hand, for my readily perusal thereof."
Nil desperandum ; but I began by despairing of my
ability to accomplish tasks so multifarious. I simply
bowed, however, and so dismissed myself for that even
ing.
One tempting morning, when the air was cool, my boy
and I ventured some distance beyond the bounds of our
usual cautious promenade, close to the palace of the
premier. Some forty or fifty carpenters, building boats
60 THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
under a long low shed, attracted the child's attention.
We tarried awhile, watching their work, and then strolled
to a stone bridge hard by, where we found a gang of re
pulsive wretches, all men, coupled by means of iron
collars and short but heavy fetters, in which they moved
with difficulty, if not with positive pain. They were
carrying stone from the canal to the bridge, and as they
stopped to deposit their burdens, I observed that most of
them had hard, defiant faces, though here and there were
sad and gentle eyes that bespoke sympathy. One of
them approached us, holding out his hand, into which
Boy dropped the few coins he had. Instantly, with a
greedy shout, the whole gang were upon us, crowding us
on all sides, wrangling, yelling. I was exceedingly
alarmed, and having no more money there, knew not
what to do, except to take my child in my arms, and
strive again and again to break through the press ; but
still I fell back baffled, and sickened by the insufferable
odors that emanated from their disgusting persons ; and
still they pressed and scrambled and screamed, and clanked
their horrid chains. But behold ! suddenly, as if struck
by lightning, every man of them fell on his face, and
officers flew among them pell-mell, swingeing with hard,
heavy thongs the naked wincing backs.
It was with a sense of infinite relief that we found
ourselves safe in our rooms at last; but the breakfast
tasted earthy and the atmosphere was choking, and our
very hearts were parched. At night Boy lay burning on
his little bed, moaning for aiyer siy'ok (cold water), while
I fainted for a breath of fresh, sweet air. But God
blesses these Eastern prison-houses not at all ; the air
that visits them is no better than the life within, —
heavy, stifling, stupefying. For relief I betook me to the
study of the Siamese language, an occupation I had found
very pleasant and inspiring. As for Boy, who spoke
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS. 61
Malay fluently, it was wonderful with what aptness he
acquired it.
When next I " interviewed " the king, I was accom
panied by the premier's sister, a fair and friendly woman,
whose whole stock of English was, " Good morning, sir " ;
and with this somewhat irrelevant greeting, a dozen times
in an hour, though the hour were night, she relieved her
pent-up feelings, and gave expression to her sympathy
and regard for me.
Mr. Hunter, private secretary to the premier, had in
formed me, speaking for his Excellency, that I should
prepare to enter upon my duties at the royal palace
without delay. Accordingly, next morning, the elder
sister of the Kralahome came for us. She led the way
to the river, followed by slave-girls bearing a gold tea
pot, a pretty gold tray containing two tiny porcelain cups
with covers, her betel-box, also of gold, and !wo large
fans. When we were seated in the closely covered basket-
boat, she took up one of the books I had brought with
me, and, turning over the leaves, came upon the alphabet;
whereat, with a look of pleased surprise, she began re
peating the letters. I helped her, and for a while she
seemed amused and gratified ; but presently, growing
weary of it, she abruptly closed the book, and, offering
me her hand, said, "Good morning, sir!" I replied with
equal cordiality, and I think we bade each other good
morning at least a dozen times before we reached the
palace.
We landed at a showy pavilion, and after traversing
several covered passages came to a barrier guarded by
Amazons, to whom the old lady was evidently well
known, for they threw open the gate for us, and " squat
ted" till we passed. A hot walk of twenty minutes
brought us to a curious oval door of polished brass, which
opened and shut noiselessly in a highly ornate frame.
62 THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
This admitted us to a cool retreat, on one side of which
were several temples or chapels in antique styles, and on
the other a long dim gallery. On the marble floor of
this pavilion a number of interesting children sat or
sprawled, and quaint babies slept or frolicked in their
nurses' arms. It was, indeed, a grateful change from the
oppressive, irritating heat and glare through which we
had just passed.
The loungers started up to greet our motherly guide,
who humbly prostrated herself before them; and then
refreshments were brought in on large silver trays, with
covers of scarlet silk in the form of a bee-hive. As no
knife or fork or spoon was visible, Boy and I were fain
to content ourselves with oranges, wherewith we made
ourselves an unexpected but cheerful show for the enter
tainment and edification of those juvenile spectators of
the royal family of Siam. I smiled and held out my
hand to them, for they were, almost without exception,
attractive children ; but they shyly shrank from me.
Meanwhile the " child-wife," to whom his Majesty had
presented me at my first audience, appeared, and after
saluting profoundly the sister of the Kralahome, and
conversing with her for some minutes, lay down on the
cool floor, and, using her betel-box for a pillow, beckoned
to me. As I approached, and seated myself beside her,
she said : " I am very glad to see you. It is long time I
not see. Why you come so late ? " to all of which she
evidently expected no reply. I tried baby-talk, in the
hope of making my amiable sentiments intelligible to so
infantile a creature, but in vain. Seeing me disappointed
and embarrassed, she oddly sang a scrap of the Sunday-
school hymn, " There is a Happy Land, far, far away " ;
and then said, " I think of you very often. In the begin
ning, God created the heavens and the earth."
This meritorious but disjointed performance was fol-
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS. 63
lowed by a protracted and trying silence, I sitting patient,
and Boy wondering in my lap. At last she half rose,
and, looking around, cautiously whispered, " Dear Mam
Mattoon ! I love you. I think of you. Your boy dead,
you come to palace ; you cry — I love you " ; and laying
her finger on her lips, and her head on the betel-box
again, again she sang, " There is a Happy Land, far, far
away ! "
Mrs. Mattoon is the wife of that good and true Ameri
can apostle who has nobly served the cause of missions
in Siam as a co-laborer with the excellent Dr. Samuel
House. While the wife of the latter devoted herself in-
defatigably to the improvement of schools for the native
children whom the mission had gathered round it, Mrs.
Mattoon shared her labors by occasionally teaching in the
palace, which was for some time thrown open to the la
dies of her faithful sisterhood. Here, as elsewhere, the
blended force and gentleness of her character wrought
marvels in the impressible and grateful minds to which
she had access.
So spontaneous and ingenuous a tribute of reverence
and affection from a pagan to a Christian lady was inex
pressibly charming to me.
Thus the better part of the day passed. The longer I
rested dreaming there, the more enchanted seemed the
world within those walls. I was aroused by a slight
noise proceeding from the covered gallery, whence an old
lady appeared bearing a candlestick of gold, with branches
supporting four lighted candles. I afterward learned
that these were daily offerings, which the king, on awa
kening from his forenoon slumber, sent to the Watt P lira
Keau. This apparition was the signal for much stir.
The Lady Talap started to her feet and fled, and we were
left alone with the premier's sister and the slaves in wait
ing. The entire household seemed to awake on the in-
64 THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
stant, as in the " Sleeping Palace " of Tennyson, at the
kiss of the Fairy Prince, —
" The maid and page renewed their strife ;
The palace banged, and buzzed, and clackt ;
And all the long-pent stream of life
Dashed downward in a cataract."
A various procession of women and children — some
pale and downcast, others bright and blooming, more
moody and hardened — moved in the one direction ; none
tarried to chat, none loitered or looked back ; the lord
was awake.
" And last with these the king awoke,
And in his chair himself upreared,
And ya\vned, and rubbed his face, and spoke."
Presently the child -wife reappeared, — arrayed now in
dark blue silk, which contrasted well with the soft olive
of her complexion, — and quickly followed the others,
with a certain anxious alacrity expressed in her baby
face. I readily guessed that his Majesty was the awful
cause of all this careful bustle, and began to feel uneasy
myself, as my ordeal approached. For an hour I stood
on thorns. Then there was a general frantic rush. At
tendants, nurses, slaves, vanished through doors, around
corners, behind pillars, under stairways ; and at last, pre
ceded by a sharp, " cross " cough, behold the king !
We found his Majesty in a less genial mood than at my
first reception. He approached us coughing loudly and
repeatedly, a sufficiently ominous fashion of announcing
himself, which greatly discouraged my darling boy, who
clung to me anxiously. He was followed by a numerous
"tail" of women and children, who formally prostrated
themselves around him. Shaking hands with me coldly,
but remarking upon the beauty of the child's hair, half
buried in the folds of my dress, he turned to the pre
mier's sister, and conversed at some length with her, she
THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS. 65
apparently acquiescing in all that he had to say. He
then approached ine, and said, in a loud and domineer
ing tone : —
" It is our pleasure that you shall reside within this
palace with our family."
I replied that it would be quite impossible for me to
do so ; that, being as yet unable to speak the language,
and the gates being shut every evening, I should feel like
an unhappy prisoner in the palace.
" Where do you go every evening ? " he demanded.
"Not anywhere, your Majesty. I am a stranger here."
" Then why you shall object to the gates being shut ? "
" I do not clearly know," I replied, with a secret shud
der at the idea of sleeping within those walls ; " but I
am afraid I could not do it. I beg your Majesty will re
member that in your gracious letter you promised me ' a
residence adjoining the royal palace,' not within it."
He turned and looked at me, his face growing almost
purple with rage. " I do not know I have promised. I
do not know former condition. I do not know anything
but you are our servant ; and it is our pleasure that you
must live in this palace, and — you shall obey." Those
last three words he fairly screamed.
I trembled in every limb, and for some time knew not
how to reply. At length I ventured to say, " I am pre
pared to obey all your Majesty's commands within the
obligation of my duty to your family, but beyond that I
can promise no obedience."
" You shall live in palace," he roared, — " you shall live
in palace ! I will give woman slaves to wait on you.
You shall commence royal school in this pavilion on
Thursday next. That is the best day for such undertak
ing, in the estimation of our astrologers."
With that, he addressed, in a frantic manner, com
mands, unintelligible to me, to some of the old women
66 THE KING AND THE GOVERNESS.
about the pavilion. My boy began to cry ; tears filled
my own eyes ; and the premier's sister, so kind but an
hour before, cast fierce glances at us both. I turned and
led my child toward the oval brass door. We heard
voices behind us crying, " Mam ! Mam ! " I turned
again, and saw the king beckoning and calling to me.
I bowed to him profoundly, but passed on through the
brass door. The prime minister's sister bounced after us
in a distraction of excitement, tugging at my cloak, shak
ing her finger in my face, and crying, " My di ! my di ! " *
All the way back, in the boat, and on the street, to the
very door of my apartments, instead of her jocund " Good
morning, sir," I had nothing but my di.
But kings, who are not mad, have their sober second-
thoughts like other rational people. His Golden-footed
Majesty presently repented him of his arbitrary " can-
tankerousness," and in due time my ultimatum was ac
cepted.
* "Bad, bad!"
VII.
MAEBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS.
~TTT~ELL ! by this time I was awake to the realities of
VV time, place, and circumstance. The palace and
its spells, the impracticable despot, the impassible pre
mier, were not the phantasms of a witching night, but the
hard facts of noonday. Here were ,the very Apollyons
of paganry in the way, and only the Great Hearts of a
lonely woman and a loving child to challenge them.
With a heart heavy with regret for the comparatively
happy home I had left in Malacca, I sought an interview
with the Kralahome, and told him (through his secretary,
Mr. Hunter) how impossible it would be for me and my
child to lodge within the walls of the Grand Palace ; and
that he was bound in honor to make good the conditions
on which I had been induced to leave Singapore. At last
I succeeded in interesting him, and he accorded me a gra
cious hearing. My objection to the palace, as a place of
residence as well as of business, seemed to strike him as
reasonable enough ; and he promised to plead my cause
with his Majesty, bidding me kindly "give myself no
further trouble about the matter, for he would make it
right."
Thus passed a few days more, while I waited monoto
nously under the roof of the premier, teaching Boy,
studying Siamese, paying stated visits to the good Koon
Ying Phan, and suffering tumultuous invasions from my
"intimate enemies" of the harem, who came upon us like
68 MARBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS.
a flight of locusts, and rarely left without booty, in the
shape of trifles they had begged of me. But things get
themselves done, after a fashion, even in Siam ; and so,
one morning, came the slow but welcome news that the
king was reconciled to the idea of my living outside the
palace, that a house had been selected for me, and a mes
senger waited to conduct me to it.
Hastily donning our walking-gear, we found an elderly
man, of somewhat sinister aspect, in a dingy red coat
with faded facings of yellow, impatient to guide us to our
unimaginable quarters. As we passed out, we met the
premier, whose countenance wore a quizzing expression,
which I afterward understood ; but at the moment I saw
in it only the characteristic conundrum that I had neither
the time nor the talent to guess. It was with a lively
sense of relief that I followed our conductor, in whom,
by a desperate exploit of imagination, I discovered a
promise of privacy and "home."
In a long, slender boat, with a high, uneven covering
of wood, we stowed ourselves in the Oriental manner, my
dress and appearance affording infinite amusement to the
ten rowers as they plied their paddles, while our escort
stood in the entrance chewing betel, and looking more ill-
omened than ever. We alighted at the king's pavilion
facing the river, and were led, by a long, circuitous, and
unpleasant road, through two tall gates, into a street
which, from the offensive odors that assailed us, I took to
be a fish-market. The sun burned, the air stifled, the
dust choked us, the ground blistered our feet ; we were
parching and suffocating, when our guide stopped at the
end of this most execrable lane, and signed to us to fol
low him up three broken steps of brick. From a pouch
in his dingy coat he produced a key, applied it to a door,
and opened to us two small rooms, without a window
in either, without a leaf to shade, without bath-closet or
MARBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS. 69
kitchen. And this was the residence sumptuously ap
pointed for the English governess to the royal family
of Siam !
And furnished ! and garnished ! In one room, on a
remnant of filthy matting, stood the wreck of a table,
superannuated, and maimed of a leg, but propped by two
chairs that with broken arms sympathized with each
other. In the other, a cheap excess of Chinese bedstead,
that took the whole room to itself ; and a mattress I — a
mutilated epitome of a Lazarine hospital.
My stock of Siamese words was small, but strong. I
gratefully recalled the emphatic monosyllables wherewith
the premier's sister had so berated me ; and turning upon
the king's messenger with her tremendous my di ! my di !
dashed the key from his hand, as, inanely grinning, he
held it out to me, caught my boy up in my arms, cleared
the steps in a bound, and fled anywhere, anywhere,
until I was stopped by the crowd of men, women, and
children, half naked, who gathered around me, wondering.
Then, remembering my adventure with the chain-gang, I
was glad to accept the protection of my insulted escort,
and escape from that suburb of disgust. All the way
back to the premier's our guide grinned at us fiendishly,
whether in token of apology or ridicule I knew not;
and landing us safely, he departed to our great relief, still
grinning.
Straight went I to the Kralahome, whose shy, inquisi
tive smile was more and more provoking. In a few sharp
words I told him, through the interpreter, what I thought
of the lodging provided for me, and that nothing should
induce me to live in such a slum. To which, with cool,
deliberate audacity, he replied that nothing prevented me
from living where I was. I started from the low seat I
had taken (in order to converse with him at my ease, he
sitting on the floor), and not without difficulty found
70 MARBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS.
voice to say that neither his palace nor the den in the
fish-market would suit me, and that I demanded suitable
and independent accommodations, in a respectable neigh
borhood, for myself and my child. My rage only amused
him. Smiling insolently, he rose, bade me, " Never mind :
it will be all right by and by," and retired to an inner
chamber.
My head throbbed with pain, my pulse bounded, my
throat burned. I staggered to my rooms, exhausted and
despairing, there to lie, for almost a week, prostrated
with fever, and tortured day and night with frightful
fancies and dreams. Beebe and the gentle Koon Ying
Phan nursed me tenderly, bringing me water, deliciously
cool, in which the fragrant flower of the jessamine had
been steeped, both to drink and to bathe my temples.
As soon as I began to recover, I caressed the soft hand
of the dear pagan lady, and implored her, partly in Sia
mese, partly in English, to intercede for me with her
husband, that a decent home might be provided for us.
She assured me, while she smoothed my hair and patted
my cheek as though I were a helpless child, that she
would do her best with him, begging me meanwhile to be
patient. But that I could not be ; and I spared no op
portunity to expostulate with the premier on the subject
of my future abode and duties, telling him that the life
I was leading under his roof was insupportable to me ;
though, indeed, I was not ungrateful for the many offices
of affection I received from the ladies of his harem, who
in my trouble were sympathetic and tender. From that
time forth the imperturbable Kralahome was ever cour
teous to me. Nevertheless, when from time to time I grew
warm again on the irrepressible topic, he would smile
slyly, tap the ashes from his pipe, and say, " Yes, sir !
Never mind, sir ! You not like, you can live in fish-
market, sir 1 "
MARBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS. 71
The apathy and supineness of these people oppressed
me intolerably. Never well practised in patience, I
chafed at the sang-froid of the deliberate premier.
Without compromising my dignity, I did much to enrage
him; but he bore all with a nonchalance that was the
more irritating because it was not put on.
Thus more than two months passed, and I had desper
ately settled down to my Oriental studies, content to
snub the Kralahome with his own indifference, whilst he,
on the other hand, blandly ignored our existence, when,
to my surprise, he paid me a visit one afternoon, compli
mented me on my progress in the language, and on my
" great heart," — or chi yai, as he called it, — and told me his
Majesty was highly incensed at my conduct in the aflair
of the fish-market, and that he had found me something
to do. I thanked him so cordially that he expressed his
surprise, saying, " Siamese lady no like work ; love play,
love sleep. Why you no love play ? "
I assured him that I liked play well enough when I
was in the humor for play ; but that at present I was not
disposed to disport myself, being weary of my life in his
palace, and sick of Siam altogether. He received my
candor with his characteristic smile and a good-humored
"Good by, sir!"
Next morning ten Siamese lads and a little girl came
to my room. The former were the half-brothers, nephews,
and other " encumbrances " of the Kralahome ; the latter
their sister, a simple child of nine or ten. Surely it was
with no snobbery of condescension that I received these
poor children, but rather gratefully, as a comfort and a
wholesome discipline.
And so another month went by, and still I heard noth
ing from his Majesty. But the premier began to interest
me. The more I saw of him the more he puzzled me.
It was plain that all who came in contact with him
72 MARBLE HALLS AND FISH-STALLS.
both feared and loved him. He displayed a kind of pas
sive amiability of which he seemed always conscious,
which he made his forte. By what means he exacted
such prompt obedience, and so completely controlled a
people whom he seemed to drive with reins so loose and
careless, was a mystery to me. But that his influence
and the prestige of his name penetrated to every nook
of that vast yet undeveloped kingdom was the phenom
enon which slowly but surely impressed me. I was but
a passing traveller, surveying from a distance and at large
that vast plain of humanity ; but I could see that it was
systematically tilled by one master mind.
VIII.
OUK HOME IN BANGKOK.
~T~) EBUKED and saddened, I abandoned my long-cher-
JL\ ished hope of a home, and resigned myself with
no good grace to my routine of study and instruction.
Where were all the romantic fancies and proud anticipa
tions with which I had accepted the position of gover
ness to the royal family of Siam ? Alas ! in two squalid
rooms at the end of a Bangkok fish-market. I failed to
find the fresh strength and courage that lay in the hope
of improving the interesting children whose education
had been intrusted to me, and day by day grew more
and more desponding, less and less equal to the simple
task my "mission" had set me. I was fairly sick at
heart and ready to surrender that morning when the good
Koon Ying Phan came unannounced into our rooms to
tell us that a tolerable house was found for us at last. I
cannot describe with what an access of joy 1 heard the
glad tidings, nor how I thanked the messenger, nor how in
a moment I forgot all my chagrin and repining, and hugged
my boy and covered him with kisses. It was not until
that " order for. release " arrived, that I truly felt how
offensive and galling had been the life I had led in the
premier's palace. • It was with unutterable gladness that
I followed a half-brother of the Kralahome, Moonshee
leading Boy by the hand, to our new house. Passing
several streets, we entered a walled enclosure, abounding
in broken bricks, stone, lime, mortar, and various rubbish.
4
7-4 OUR HOME IN BANGKOK.
A tall, dingy storehouse occupied one side of the wall ;
in the other, a low door opened toward the river ; and at
the farther end stood the house, sheltered by a few fine
trees, that, drooping over the piazza, made the place al
most picturesque. On entering, however, we found our
selves face to face with overpowering filth. Poor Moon-
shee stood aghast. " It must be a paradise," he had said
when we set out, " since the great Vizier bestows it upon
the Mem Sahib, whom he delights to honor." Now he
cursed his fate, and reviled all viziers. I turned to see to
whom his lamentations were addressed, and beheld an
other Mohammedan seated on the floor, and attending
with an attitude and air of devout respect. The scene
reminded Boy and me of our old home, and we laughed
heartily. On making a tour of inspection, we found nine
rooms, some of them pleasant and airy, and with every
" modern convenience " (though somewhat Oriental as to
style) of bath, kitchen, etc. It was clear that soap and
water without stint would do much here toward the mak
ing of a home for us. Beebe and Boy were hopeful, and
promptly put a full stop to the rhetorical outcry of Moon-
shee by requesting him to enlist the services of his ad
miring friend and two China coolies to fetch water. But
there were no buckets. With a few dollars that I gave
him, Moonshee, with all a Moslem's resignation to any
new turn in his fate, departed to explore for the required
utensils, while the brother of the awful Kralahome,
perched on the piazza railing, adjusted his anatomy for a
comfortable oversight of the proceedings: Boy, with his
"pinny" on, ran off in glee to make himself promiscu
ously useful, and I sat down to plan an attack.
Where to begin? — that was the question. It was such
filthy filth, so monstrous in quantity and kind, — dirt to be
stared at, defied, savagely assaulted with rage and havoc.
Suddenly I arose, shook my head dangerously at the
OUR HOME IN BANGKOK. 75
prime minister's brother, — who, fascinated, had advanced
into the room, — marched through a broken door, hung
my hat and mantle on a rusty nail, doffed my neat half-
mourning, slipped on an old wrapper, dashed at the vile
matting that in ulcerous patches afflicted the floor, and
began fiercely tearing it up.
In good time Moonshee and his new friend returned
with half a dozen buckets, but no coolies; in place of
the latter came a neat and pleasant Siamese lady, Mrs.
Hunter, wife of the premier's secretary, bringing her slaves
to help, and some rolls of fresh, sweet China matting for
the floor. How quickly the general foulness was puri
fied, the general raggedness repaired, the general shabbi-
ness made " good as new " ! The floors, that had been
buried under immemorial dust, arose again under the
excavating labors of the sweepers ; and the walls, that had
been gory with expectorations of betel, hid their " damned
spots " under innocent veils of whitewash.
Moonshee, who had evidently been beguiled by a cheap
and spurious variety of the wine of Shiraz, and now
sat maudlin on the steps, weeping for his home in Sin
gapore, I despatched peremptorily in search of Beebe,
bedsteads, and boxes. But the Kralahome's brother had
vanished, doubtless routed by the brooms.
Bright, fresh, fragrant matting ; a table neither too low
to be pretty nor too high to be useful ; a couple of arm
chairs, hospitably embracing ; a pair of silver candle
sticks, quaint and homely ; a goodly company of pleasant
books ; a piano, just escaping from its travelling-cage,
with all its pent-up music in its bosom ; a cosey little cot
clinging to its ampler mother ; a stream of generous sun
light from the window gilding and gladdening all, — be
hold our home in Siam !
I worked exultingly till the setting sun slanted his
long shadows across the piazza. Then came comfortable
76 OUR HOME IN BANGKOK.
Beebe with the soup and dainties she had prepared with
the help of a " Bombay man." Boy slept soundly in an
empty room, overcome by the spell of its sudden sweet
ness, his hands and face as dirty as a healthy, well-regu
lated boy could desire. Triumphantly I bore him to his
own pretty couch, adjusted my hair, resumed my royal
robes of mauve muslin, and prepared to queen it in my
own palace.
And even as I stood, smiling at my own small grandeur,
came tender memories crowding thick upon me, — of a
soft, warm lap, in which I had once loved to lay my
head ; of a face, fair, pensive, loving, lovely ; of eyes
whose deep and quiet light a shadow of unkindness never
crossed ; of lips that sweetly crooned the songs of a far-
off, happy land; of a presence full of comfort, hope,
strength, courage, victory, peace, that perfect harmony
that comes of perfect faith, — a child's trust in its mother.
Passionately I clasped my child in my arms, and awoke
him with pious promises that took the form of kisses.
Beebe, soup, teapot, candlesticks, teacups, and dear faith
ful Bessy, looked on and smiled.
Hardly had we finished this, our first and finest feast,
in celebration of our glorious independence, when our late
guide of fish-market fame, he of the seedy red coat and
faded yellow facings, appeared on the piazza, saluted us
with that vacant chuckle and grin wherefrom no infer
ence could be drawn, and delivered his Majesty's order
that I should now come to the school.
Unterrified and deliberate, we lingered yet a little over
that famous breakfast, then rose, and prepared to follow
the mechanical old ape. Boy hugged Bessy fondly by
way of good-by, and, leaving Beebe on guard, we went
forth. The same long, narrow, tall, and very crank boat
received us. The sun was hot enough to daunt a sepoy ;
OUR HOME IN BANGKOK. 77
down the "bare backs of the oarsmen flowed miniature
Meinams of sweat, as they tugged, grunting, against the
strong current. We landed at the familiar (king's) pavil
ion, the front of which projects into the river by a low
portico. The roof, rising in several tiers, half shelters, half
bridges the detached and dilapidated parts of the struct
ure, which presents throughout a very ancient aspect,
parts of the roof having evidently been renewed, and the
gables showing traces of recent repairs, while the rickety
pillars seem to protest with groans against the architec
tural anachronism that has piled so many young heads
upon their time-worn shoulders.
IX.
OUE SCHOOL IN THE PALACE.
r I ^HE fact is remarkable, that though education in its
higher degrees is popularly neglected in Siam, there
is scarcely a man or woman in the empire who cannot
read and write. Though a vain people, they are neither
bigoted nor shallow ; and I think the day is not far off
when the enlightening influences applied to them, and ac
cepted through their willingness, not only to receive in
struction from Europeans, but even to adopt in a measure
their customs and their habits of thought, will raise them
to the rank of a superior nation.
The language of this people advances but slowly in
the direction of grammatical perfection. Like many
other Oriental tongues, it was at first purely monosylla
bic ; but as the Pali or Sanskrit has been liberally en
grafted on it, polysyllabic words have been formed. Its
pronouns and particles are peculiar, its idioms few and
simple, its metaphors very obvious. It is copious to re
dundancy in terms expressive of royalty, rank, dignity —
in fact, a distinct phraseology is required in addressing
personages of exalted station; repetitions of word and
phrase are affected, rather than shunned. Sententious
brevity and simplicity of expression belong to the pure
spirit of the language, and when employed impart to it
much dignity and beauty ; but there is no standard of
orthography, nor any grammar, and but few rules of uni
versal application. Every Siamese writer spells to please
A PUPIL OF THE ROYAL SCHOOL.
OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE. 79
himself, and the purism of one is the slang or gibberish
of another.
The Siamese write from left to right, the words running
together in a line unbroken by spaces, points, or capitals ;
so that, as in ancient Sanskrit, an entire paragraph appears
as one protracted word,
" That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along."
When not written with a reed on dark native paper, the
characters are engraved with a style (of brass or iron, one
end sharp for writing, the other flat for erasing) on palm-
leaves prepared for the purpose.
In all parts of the empire the boys are taught by
priests to read, write, and cipher. Every monastery is
provided with a library, more or less standard. The more
elegant books are composed of tablets of ivory, or of
palmyra leaves delicately prepared; the characters en
graved on these are gilt, the margins and edges adorned
with heavy gilding or with flowers in bright colors.
The literature of the Siamese deals principally with
religious topics. The " Kammarakya," or Buddhist Eit-
ual, — a work for the priesthood only, and therefore, like
others of the Vinnaya, little known, — contains the vital
elements of the Buddhist Moral Code, and, per se, is per
fect ; on this point all writers, whether partial or captious,
are of one mind. Spence Hardy, a Wesleyan missionary,
speaking of that part of the work entitled "Dhamma-
Padam," * which is freely taught in the schools attached
to the monasteries, admits that a compilation might be
made from its precepts, "which in the purity of its
ethics could hardly be equalled from any other heathen
author."
M. Laboulaye, one of the most distinguished members
of the French Academy, remarks, in the Debats of April 4,
* Properly Dharmna, — " Footsteps of the Law."
80 OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE.
1853, on a work known by the title of "Dharmna Maitrl/'
or " Law of Charity " : —
" It is difficult to comprehend how men, not aided by
revelation, could have soared so high and approached so
near the truth. Beside the five great commandments, —
not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie,
not to get drunk, — every shade of vice, hypocrisy, anger,
pride, suspicion, greed, gossip, cruelty to animals, is
guarded against by special precepts. Among the virtues
commended we find, not only reverence for parents, care
for children, submission to authority, gratitude, modera
tion in time of prosperity, resignation and fortitude in
time of trial, equanimity at all times, but virtues un
known to any heathen system of morality, such as the
duty of forgiving insults, and of rewarding evil with
good."
All virtues, we are told, spring from maitri, and this
maitri can only be rendered by charity and love.
" I do not hesitate," says Burnouf, in his Lotus de la
Bonne Loi, " to translate by ' charity ' the word maitri,
which expresses, not merely friendship, or the feeling of
particular affection which a man has for one or more of his
fellow-creatures, but that universal feeling which inspires
us with good- will toward all men and a constant willing
ness to help them."
I may here add the testimony of Barthelemy Saint-
Hilaire : " I do not hesitate to add," he writes, " that, save
the Christ alone, there is not among the founders of re
ligion a figure more pure, more touching, than that of
Buddha. His life is without blemish ; his constant
heroism equals his conviction ; and if the theory he ex
tols is false, the personal examples he affords are irre
proachable. He is the accomplished model of all the
virtues he preaches ; his abnegation, his charity, his unal
terable sweetness, never belie themselves. At the age of
OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE. 81
twenty-nine he retires from the court of the king, his
father, to become a devotee and a beggar. He silently
prepares his doctrine by six years of seclusion and medi
tation. He propagates it, by the unaided power of speech
and persuasion, for more than half a century ; and when
he dies in the arms of his disciples, it is with the serenity
of a sage who has practised goodness all his life, and
knows that he has found Truth."
Another work, as sacred and more mystic, is the " Para-
jika," read in the temples with closed doors by the chief
priests exclusively, and only to such devotees as have
entered the monastic schools for life.
Then there are the "P'ra-jana Para-mita," (the "Ac
complishment of Reason," or " Transcendental Wisdom,)"
and other works in abstruse philosophy. The " Lalita Vis-
tara " contains the life of Buddha, and is esteemed the
highest authority as to the more remarkable events in the
career of the great reformer. The " Saddharma-pundi-
kara " (or pundariki in Ceylon), " The White Lotos of the
True Religion," presents the incidents of Buddha's life in
the form of legend and fable.
The " Ganda-Veyuha," but little known, consists of
remarkable and very beautiful forms of prayer and
thanksgiving, with psalms of praise addressed to the
Perfection of the Infinite and to the Invisible, by Sakya
Muni, the Buddha. The "Mrwana" treats of the end
of material existence, and is universally read, and highly
esteemed by Buddhists as a treatise of rare merit.
But the most important parts of the theological study
of the Siamese priesthood are found in a work revered
under the titles of " Tautras " and " Kala-Chakara," — that
is, " Circles of Time, Matter, Space " ; probably a transla
tion of the Sanskrit symbolic word, Om, " Circle." There
are twenty-two volumes, treating exclusively of mystics
and mystical worship.
4*
OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE.
The libraries of the monasteries are rich in works on
the theory and practice of medicine ; but very poor in
historical books, the few preserved dealing mainly with
the lives and actions of Siamese rulers, oddly associated
with the genii and heroes of the Hindoo mythology.
Like the early historians of Greece and Kome, the writers
are careful to furnish a particular account of all signs,
omens, and predictions relating to the several events re
corded. They possess also a few translated works in Chi
nese history.
The late king was an authority on all questions of re
ligion, law, and custom, and was familiar with the writ
ings of Pythagoras and Aristotle.
The Siamese have an extravagant fondness for the
drama, and for poetry of every kind. In all the lyric
form predominates, and their compositions are commonly
adapted for instrumental accompaniment. Their dramatic
entertainments are mainly musical, combining rudely the
opera with the ballet, — monotonous singing, and listless,
mechanical dancing. Dialogue is occasionally intro
duced, the favorite subjects being passages from the Hin
doo Avatars, the epic " Eamayana," and the " Mahabha-
rata " ; or from legends, peculiar to Siam, of gods, heroes,
and demons. Throughout their literature, mythology is
the all-pervading element ; history, science, arts, customs,
conversation, opinion, doctrine, are alike colored and
flavored with it.
With so brief and meagre a sketch of the literature of
Siam, I would fain prepare the reader to appreciate the
peculiarities of an English classical school in the Eoyal
Palace at Bangkok. In Siam, all schools, literary socie
ties, monasteries, even factories, all intellectual and pro
gressive enterprises of whatever nature and intention, are
opened and begun on Thursday, " One P'ra Hatt " ; be
cause that day is sacred to the goddess of Mind or Wis-
OUR SCHOOL IX THE PALACE. 83
dom, probably the Hindoo Saraswati. On the Thursday
appointed for the opening of my classes in the palace,
one of the king's barges conveyed us across the Meinam.
At the landing I was met by slave-girls, who conducted
me to the palace through the gate called Patoo Sap, " Gate
of Knowledge." Here I was received by some Amazons,
who in turn gave notice to other slave-girls waiting to es
cort us to a pavilion — or, more correctly, temple — dedi
cated to the wives and daughters of Siam.* The profound
solitude of this refuge, embowered in its twilight grove of
orange and palm trees, was strangely tranquillizing. The
religion of the place seemed to overcome us, as we waited
among the tall, gilded pillars of the temple. On one side
was an altar, enriched with some of the most curious and
precious offerings of art to be found in the East. There
was a gilded rostrum also, from which the priests daily
officiated; and near by, on the summit of a curiously
carved trunk of an old Blio tree/f- the goddess of Mind
presided.
The floor of this beautiful temple was a somewhat
gaudy mosaic of variegated marble and precious stones;
but the gilded pillars, the friezes that surmounted them,
and the vaulted roof of gilded arabesques, seemed to tone
down the whole to their own chaste harmony of design.
In the centre of the temple stood a long table, finely
carved, and some gilt chairs. The king and most of the
nobler ladies of the court were present, with a few of
the chief priests, among whom I recognized, for the first
time, his Lordship Chow Khoon Sah.
His Majesty received me and my little boy most kindly.
After an interval of silence he clapped his hands lightly,
and instantly the lower hall was filled with female slaves.
* Watt Khoon Choom Manda Thai, — "Temple of the Mothers of
the Free."
t The sacred tree under which Guadama discoursed with his disciples.
84 OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE.
A word or two, dropped from his lips, bowed every head
and dispersed the attendants. But they presently re
turned laden, some with boxes containing books, slates,
pens, pencils, and ink ; others with lighted tapers and
vases filled with the white lotos, which they set down
before the gilded chairs.
At a signal from the king, the priests chanted a hymn
from the "P'ra-jana Para-mita";* and then a burst of
music announced the entrance of the princes and prin
cesses, my future pupils. They advanced in the order of
their ages. The Princess Ying You "Wahlacks ("First
born among Women"), having precedence, approached
and prostrated herself before her royal father, the others
following her example. I admired the beauty of her skin,
the delicacy of her form, and the subdued lustre of her
dreamy eyes. The king took her gently by the hand, and
presented me to her, saying simply, " The English teacher."
Her greeting was quiet and self-possessed. Taking both
my hands, she bowed, and touched them with her fore
head ; then, at a word from the king, retired to her place
on the right. One by one, in like manner, all the royal
children were presented and saluted me ; and the music
ceased.
His Majesty then spoke briefly, to this effect: "Dear
children, as this is to be an English school, you will have
to learn and observe the English modes of salutation, ad
dress, conversation, and etiquette ; and each and every one
of you shall be at liberty to sit in my presence, unless it
be your own pleasure not to do so." The children all
bowed, and touched their foreheads with their folded
palms, in acquiescence.
Then his Majesty departed with the priests ; and the
moment he was fairly out of sight, the ladies of the court
began, with much noise and confusion, to ask questions,
* "Accomplishment of Reason," or "Transcendental Wisdom."
OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE. 85
turn over the leaves of books, and chatter and giggle to
gether. Of course, no teaching was possible in such a
din ; my young princes and princesses disappeared in the
arms of their nurses and slaves, and I retired to my
apartments in the prime minister's palace. But the seri
ous business of my school began on the following Thurs
day.
1 On that day a crowd of half-naked children followed
me and my Louis to the palace gates, where our guide
gave us in charge to a consequential female slave, at
whose request the ponderous portal was opened barely
wide enough to admit one person at a time. On entering
we were jealously scrutinized by the Amazonian guard,
and a " high private " questioned the propriety of admit
ting my boy ; whereat a general tittering, and we passed
on. We advanced through the noiseless oval door, and
entered the dim, cool pavilion, in the centre of which the
tables were arranged for school. Away new several ven
erable dames who had awaited our arrival, and in about
an hour returned, bringing with them twenty-one scions
of Siamese royalty, to be initiated into the mysteries of
reading, writing, and arithmetic, after the European, and
especially' the English manner.
It was not long before my scholars were ranged in
chairs around the long table, with Webster's far-famed
spelling-books before them, repeating audibly after me the
letters of the alphabet. While I stood at one end of the
table, my little Louis at the other, mounted on a chair, the
better to command his division, mimicked me with a
fidelity of tone and manner very quaint and charming.
Patiently his small finger pointed out to his class the
characters so strange to them, and not yet perfectly famil
iar to himself.
About noon, a number of young women were brought
to me, to be taught like the rest. I received them sym-
86 OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE.
pathetically, at the same time making a memorandum of
their names in a book of my own. This created a general
and lively alarm, which it was not in my power immedi
ately to allay, my knowledge of their language being con
fined to a few simple sentences ; but when at last their
courage and confidence were restored, they began to take
observations and an inventory of me that were by no
means agreeable. They fingered my hair and dress, my
collar, belt, and rings. One donned my hat and cloak,
and made a promenade of the pavilion ; another pounced
upon my gloves and veil, and disguised herself in them,
to the great delight of the little ones, who laughed bois
terously. A grim duenna, who had heard the noise,, bus
tled wrathfully into the pavilion. Instantly hat, cloak,
veil, gloves, were flung right and left, and the young wo
men dropped on the floor, repeating shrilly, like truant
urchins caught in the act, their " ba, be, bi, bo."
One who seemed the infant phenomenon of the royal
harem, so juvenile and artless were her looks and ways,
despising a performance so rudimentary as the a, b, c, de
manded to be steered at once into the mid-ocean of the
book ; but when I left her without pilot in an archipelago
of hard words, she soon showed signals of distress.
At the far end of the table, bending over a little prince,
her eyes riveted on the letters my boy was naming to her,
stood a pale young woman, whose aspect was dejected and
forlorn. She had entered unannounced and unnoticed, as
one who had no interest in common with the others ; and
now she stood apart and alone, intent only on mastering
the alphabet with the help of her small teacher. When
we were about to dismiss the school, she repeated her les
son to my wise lad, who listened with imposing gravity,
pronounced her a " very good child," and said she might
go now. But when she perceived that I observed her
curiously, she crouched almost under the table, as though
OUR SCHOOL IN THE PALACE. 87
owning she had no right to be there, and was worthy to
pick only the crumbs of knowledge that might fall from
it. She was neither very young nor pretty, save that her
dark eyes were profound and expressive, and now the
more interesting by their touching sadness. Esteeming
it the part of prudence as well as of kindness to appear
unconscious of her presence, and so encourage her to come
again, I left the palace without accosting her, before his
Majesty had awakened from his forenoon nap. This
crushed creature had fallen under the displeasure of the
king, and the after chapters of her story, which shall be
related in their proper connection, were romantic and
mournful.
MOONSHEE AND THE ANGEL GABEIEL.
OUE blue chamber overlooked the attap roofs of a
long row of houses, badly disfigured by the stains
and wear of many a wet season, in which our next
neighbor, a Mohammedan of patriarchal aspect and de
meanor, stored bags of sugar, waiting for a rise in the
market. This worthy paid us the honor of a visit every
afternoon, and in the snug little eastern chamber conse
crated to the studies and meditations of my Persian
teacher propounded solemn problems from the Alkoran.
Under Moonshee's window the tops of houses huddled,
presenting forms more or less fantastic according to the
purse or caprice of the proprietors. The shrewd old man
was not long in finding tenants for all these roofs, and
could even tell the social status and the means of each.
It tickled his vanity to find himself domiciled in so
aristocratic a quarter. Our house — more Oriental than
European in its architecture — was comparatively new,
having been erected upon the site of the old palace, the
debris of which had furnished the materials of which it
was constructed. Among the loose slabs of marble and
fragments of pottery that turned up with the promiscu
ous rubbish every day, we sometimes found surfaces of
stone bearing Siamese or Cambodian inscriptions ; others
with grotesque figures in bass-relief, taken from the my
thology of the Hindoos. Had these relics a charm for
Moonshee, and was he animated by the antiquarian's en-
MOONSHEE AND THE ANGEL GABRIEL. 89
thusiasm, that he delved away hour after hour, unearth
ing, with his spade, bricks and stones and tiles and slabs ?
I was at a loss to account for this new freak in the old
man ; but seeing him infatuated with his eccentric pur
suit, and Boy enraptured over grubs and snails and bits
of broken figures, the resurrections of the nimble spade,
I left them to their cheap and harmless bliss.
One evening, as I sat musing in the piazza, with my
book unopened on my lap, I heard Boy's clear voice ring
ing in happy, musical peals of laughter that drew me to
him. On the edge of a deep hole, in a corner of the
compound, sat Moonshee, an effigy of doleful disappoint
ment, and beside him stood the lad, clapping his little
hands and laughing merrily. The old child had taken
the young one into his confidence, and by their joint ex
ertions they had dug this hole in search of treasure ; and
lo ! at the bottom lay something that looked like a rusty
purse. With a long look and a throbbing heart Moon
shee, after several empty hauls, had fished it up ; and it
was — a toad ! a huge, unsightly, yellow toad !
" May the foul fiend fly away with thee !" cried the en
thusiast in his rage, as he flung the astonished reptile
back into the pit, and sat down to bewail his kismut,
while Boy made merry with his groans.
For some days the spade was neglected, though I
observed, from the cautious drift of his remarks at
the conclusion of our evening lesson, that Moonshee's
thoughts still harped on hidden treasure. The fervid
imagination of the child had uncovered to his mind's eye
mines of wealth, awaiting only the touch of the magic
spade to bare their golden veins to the needs of his Mem
Sahib and himself. There was no dispelling his golden
visions by any shock of hard sense ; the more he dreamed
the more he believed. But the spot ? the right spot ?
"Only wait."
90 MOONSHEE AND THE ANGEL GABRIEL.
Another week elapsed, and Boy and I worked harder
than ever in our school in the cool pavilion. I had flung
off the dead weight of my stubborn repinings, and my
heart was light again. There were delightful discoveries
of beauty in the artless, childish faces that greeted us
every morning ; and now the only wonder was that I had
been so slow to penetrate the secret of their charm. That
eager, radiant elf, the Princess Somdetch Chow Fa-ying,*
the king's darling (of whom, by and by, I shall have a
sadder tale to tell), had become a sprite of sunshine and
gladness amid the sombre shadows of those walls. In
her deep, dark, lustrous eyes, her simple, trusting ways,
there was a springtide of refreshment, a pure, pervading
radiance, that brightened the darkest thing it touched.
Even the grim hags of the harem felt its influence, and
softened in her presence.
As Boy was reciting his tasks one morning before
breakfast, Moonshee entered the room with one of his
profoundest salaams, and an expression at once so earnest
and so comical that I anxiously asked him what was the
matter. Panting alike with the eagerness of childhood
and the feebleness of age, he stammered, " I have some
thing of the greatest importance to confide to you, Mem
Sahib ! Now is the time ! Now you shall prove the
devotion of your faithful Moonshee, who swears by Allah
not to touch a grain of gold without your leave, in all
those bursting sacks, if Mem Sahib will but lend him ten
ticals, only ten ticals, to buy a screw-driver ! "
" What in the world can you want with a screw-driver,
Moonshee ? "
" 0 Mem, listen to me ! " he cried, his face glowing
with the very rapture of possession ; " I have discovered
the exact spot on which the old duke, Somdetch Ong
* "First-Born of the Skies."
MOONSHEE AND THE ANGEL GABRIEL. 91
Yai, expired. It is a secret, a wonderful secret, Mem.
Sahib ; not a creature in all Siam knows it."
" Then how came you by it," I inquired, " seeing that
you know not one word of the language, which you have
bravely scorned as unworthy to be uttered by the Faith
ful, and of no use on earth but to confound philosophers
and Moonshees ? "
" Sunnoh, sunnoli ! * Mem Sahib ! No human tongue
revealed it to me. It was the Ange Gibhrayeel.-f He
came to me last night as I slept, and said, ' 0 son ol Jaflur
Khan ! to your prayers is granted the knowledge that, for
all these years, has been denied to Kafirs. Arise ! obey !
and with humility receive the treasures reserved for thee,
thou faithful follower of the Prophet ! ' And so saying
he struck the golden palms he bore in his hand ; and
though I was now awake, Mem Sahib, I was so over
powered by the beauty and effulgence of his person, that I
was as one about to die. The radiant glory of his wings,
which were of the hue of sapphires, blinded my vision ;
I could neither speak nor see. But I felt the glow of
his presence and heard the rustle of his pinions, as once
more he beat the golden palms and cried, ' Behold, 0 son
of Jaffur Khan ! behold the spot where lie the treasures
of that haughty Kafir chief ! ' I arose, and immediately
the angel flashed from my sight ; and as I gazed there ap
peared a luminous golden hen with six golden chickens,
which pecked at bits of blazing coal that, as they cooled,
became nuggets of pure gold. When suddenly I beheld a
great light as of rooshnees,^ and it burst upon the spot
where the hen had been; and then all was darkness again.
Mem Sahib, your servant ran down and placed a stone
upon that spot, and kneeling on that stone, with his face
to the south, repeated his five Kalemahs." §
* " Listen, listen !" $ Fire-balls.
t The Angel Gabriel. § Thanksgivings.
92 MOONSHEE AND THE ANGEL GABRIEL.
I am ashamed to say I laughed ; whereat the old
man was so mortified that he vowed the next time the
angel appeared to him, he would call us all to see. I ac
cepted the condition ; and even promised that if I saw
the nuggets of pure gold that Gabriel's chickens pecked,
I would immediately accommodate him with the ten
ticals to invest in a screw-driver. So perfect was his
faith in the vision, that he accepted the promise with
complete satisfaction.
Not many nights after this extraordinary apparition,
we were aroused by Beebe and her husband calling,
" Awake, awake ! " Thinking the house was on fire, I
threw on my dressing-gown and ran into the next room
with Boy in my arms. There was indeed a fire, but it
was in a distant corner of the yard. The night was dark,
a thick mist rose from the river, and the gusty puffs of
wind that now and then swept through the compound
caused the wood fire to flare up and flicker, casting fitful
and fantastic shadows around. Moonshee stared, with
fixed eyes, expecting every moment the reappearance of
the supernatural poultry; but I, being as yet sceptical,
descended the stairs, followed by my trembling house
hold, and approached the spot.
On a remnant of matting, with a stone for a pillow, lay
an old Siamese woman asleep. Driven by the heat to the
relief of the open air, she had kindled a fire to keep off
the mosquitoes.
" Now, Moonshee," said I, " here is your Angel Gabriel.
Don't you ever again trouble me for ticals to invest in
screw-drivers."
XI.
THE WAYS OF THE PALACE.
THE city of Bangkok is commonly supposed to have
inherited the name of the ancient capital, Ayudia ;
but in the royal archives, to which I have had free access,
it is given as Krung Thep'ha Maha-Nakhon Si-ayut-thia
Maha-dilok Eacha-thani, — « The City of the Royal, In
vincible, and Beautiful Archangel." It is ramparted with
walls within and without, which divide it into an inner
and an outer city, the inner wall being thirty feet high, and
flanked with circular forts mounted with cannon, making
a respectable show of defence. Centre of all, the heart
of the citadel, is the grand palace, encompassed by a third
wall, which encloses only the royal edifice, the harems,
the temple of Watt P'hra Ke'au, and the Maha P'hrasat.
The Maha Phrasat is an immense structure of quadran
gular facades, surmounted by a tall spire of very chaste
and harmonious design. It is consecrated ; and here dead
sovereigns of Siam lie in state, waiting twelve months for
their cremation ; here also their ashes are deposited, in
urns of gold, after that fiery consummation. In the Maha
Phrasat the supreme king is crowned and all court cere
monies performed. On certain high holidays and occa
sions of state, the high-priest administers here a sort of
mass, at which the whole court attend, even the chief
ladies of the harem, who, behind heavy curtains of silk
and gold that hang from the ceiling to the floor, whisper
and giggle and peep and chew betel, and have the wonted
94 THE WAYS OF THE PALACE.
little raptures of their sex over furtive, piquant glimpses of
the world ; for, despite the strict confinement and jealous
surveillance to which they are subject, the outer life, with
all its bustle, passion, and romance, will now and then
steal, like a vagrant, curious ray of light, into the heart's
darkness of these tabooed women, thrilling their childish
minds with eager wonderment and formless longings.
Within these walls lurked lately fugitives of every
class, profligates from all quarters of the city, to whom
discovery was death ; but here their " sanctuary " was
impenetrable. Here were women disguised as men,
and men in the attire of women, hiding vice of every
vileness and crime of every enormity, — at once the most
disgusting, the most appalling, and the most unnatural
that the heart of man has conceived. It was death in
life, a charnel-house of quick corruption ; a place of gloom
and solitude indeed, wherefrom happiness, hope, courage,
liberty, truth, were forever excluded, and only mother's
love was left.
The king * was the disk of light and life round which
these strange flies swarmed. Most of the women who
composed his harem were of gentle blood, — the fairest
of the daughters of Siamese nobles and of princes of the
adjacent tributary states ; the late queen consort was his
own half-sister. Beside many choice Chinese and Indian
girls, purchased annually for the royal harem by agents
stationed at Peking, Foo-chou, and different points in Ben
gal, enormous sums were offered, year after year, through
" solicitors " at Bangkok and Singapore, for an English
woman of beauty and good parentage to crown the sensa
tional collection ; but when I took my leave of Bangkok,
in 1868, the coveted specimen had not yet appeared in the
* All that is here written applies to Maha Mongktit, the supreme king,
who died October, 1868 ; not to his successor (and my pupil), the present
king.
THE WAYS OF THE PALACE. 95
market. The cunning commissionnaires contrived to keep
their places and make a living by sending his Majesty,
now and then, a piquant photograph of some British
Nourmahal of the period, freshly caught, and duly shipped,
in good order for the harem ; but the goods never arrived.
Had the king's tastes been Gallic, his requisition might
have been filled. I remember a score of genuine offers
from French demoiselles, who enclosed their cartes in
billets more surprising and enterprising than any other
" proposals " it was my office to translate. But his whim
sical Majesty entertained a lively horror of French in
trigue, whether of priests, consuls, or lionnes, and stood
in vigilant fear of being beguiled, through one of these
adventurous sirens, into fathering the innovation of a
Franco -Siamese heir to the throne of the celestial P'hra-
batts.
The king, as well as most of the principal members of
his household, rose at five in the morning, and imme
diately partook of a slight repast, served by the ladies
who had been in waiting through the night ; after which,
attended by them and his sisters and elder children, he
descended and took his station on a long strip of matting,
laid from one of the gates through all the avenues to an
other. On his Majesty's left were ranged, first, his chil
dren in the order of rank ; then the princesses, his sisters ;
and, lastly, his concubines, his maids of honor, and their
slaves. Before each was placed a large silver tray con
taining offerings of boiled rice, fruit, cakes, and the seri
leaf; some even had cigars.
A little after five, the Patoo Dharmina (" Gate of
Merit," called by the populace "Patoo Boon") was thrown
'open and the Amazons of the guard drawn up on either
side. Then the priests entered, always by that gate, —
one hundred and ninety-nine of them, escorted on the right
and left by men armed with swords and clubs, — and
96 THE WAYS OF THE PALACE.
as they entered they chanted : " Take thy meat, but think
it dust ! Eat but to live, and but to know thyself, and
what thou art below ! And say withal unto thy heart, It
is earth I eat, that to the earth I may new life impart."
Then the chief priest, who led the procession, advanced
with downcast eyes and lowly mien, and very simply pre
sented his bowl (slung from his neck by a cord, and until
that moment quite hidden under the folds of his yellow
robe) to the members of the royal household, who offered
their fruit or cakes, or their spoonfuls of rice or sweet
meats. In like manner did all his brethren. If, by any
chance, one before whom a tray was placed was not ready
and waiting with an offering, no priest stopped; but all
continued to advance slowly, taking only what was freely
offered, without thanks or even a look of acknowledg
ment, until the end of the royal train was reached, when
the procession retired, chanting as before, by the gate
called Dinn, or, in the Court language, Prithri, "-Gate of
Earth."
After this, the king and all his company repaired to his
private temple, Watt Sasmiras Manda-thung,* so called
because it was dedicated by his Majesty to the memory
of his mother. This is an edifice of unique and charming
beauty, decorate/1 throughout by artists from Japan, who
have represented on the walls, in designs as diverse and
ingenious as they are costly, the numerous metempsy
choses of Buddha.
Here his Majesty ascended alone the steps of the altar,
rang a bell to announce the hour of devotion, lighted the
consecrated tapers, and offered the white lotos and the
roses. Then he spent an hour in prayer, and in reading
texts from the P'ra-jana Para-mita and the P'hra-ti-Mok-
sha.
This service over, he retired for another nap, attended
* "Temple in Memory of Mother."
THE WAYS OF THE PALACE. 97
by a fresh detail of women, — those who had waited the
night before being dismissed, not to be recalled for a
month, or at least a fortnight, save as a peculiar mark
of preference or favor to some one who had had the good
fortune to please or amuse him ; but most of that party
voluntarily waited upon him every day.
His Majesty usually passed his mornings in study, or in
dictating or writing English letters and despatches. His
breakfast, though a repast sufficiently frugal for Oriental
royalty, was served with awesome forms. In an ante
chamber adjoining a noble hall, rich in grotesque carvings
and gildings, a throng of females waited, while his Maj
esty sat at a long table, near which knelt twelve women
before great silver trays laden with twelve varieties of
viands, — soups, meats, game, poultry, fish, vegetables,
cakes, jellies, preserves, sauces, fruits, and teas. Each
tray, in its order, was passed by three ladies to the head
wife or concubine, who removed the silver covers, and at
least seemed to taste the contents of each dish ; and then,
advancing on her knees, she set them on the long table
before the king.
But his Majesty was notably temperate in his diet, and*
by no means a gastronome. In his long seclusion in a
Buddhist cloister he had acquired habits of severe sim
plicity and frugality, as a preparation for the exercise of
those powers of mental concentration for which he was
remarkable. At these morning repasts it was his custom
to detain me in conversation relating to some topic of in
terest derived from his studies, or in reading or translat
ing. He was more systematically educated, and a more
capacious devourer of books and news, than perhaps any
man of equal rank in our day. But much learning had
made him morally mad ; his extensive reading had engen
dered in his mind an extreme scepticism concerning all
existing religious systems. In inborn integrity and stead-
5 G
98 THE WAYS OF THE PALACE.
fast principle he had no faith whatever. He sincerely
believed that every man strove to compass his own ends,
per fas ct ncfas. The mens sibi conscia recti was to him
an hallucination, for which he entertained profound con
tempt ; and he honestly pitied the delusion that pinned
its faith on human truth and virtue. He was a provok
ing melange of antiquarian attainments and modern scep
ticism. When, sometimes, I ventured to disabuse his
mind of his darling scorn for motive and responsibility, I
had the mortification to discover that I had but helped
him to an argument against myself : it was simply " my
peculiar interest to do so." Money, money, money ! that
could procure anything.
But aside from the too manifest bias of his early edu
cation and experience, it is due to his memory to say that
his practice was less faithless than his profession, toward
those persons and principles to which he was attracted by
a just regard. In many grave considerations he displayed
soundness of understanding and clearness of judgment, —
a genuine nobility of mind, established upon universal
ethics and philosophic reason, — where his passions were
not dominant ; but when these broke in between the man
and the majesty, they effectually barred his advance in
the direction of true greatness ; beyond them lie could not,
or would not, make way.
Ah, if this man could but have cast off the cramping
yoke of his intellectual egotism, and been loyal to the free
government of his own true heart, what a demi-god might
he not have been among the lower animals of Asiatic
royalty !
At two o'clock he bestirred himself, and with the aid
of his women bathed and anointed his person. Then he
descended to a breakfast-chamber, where he was served
with the most substantial meal of the day. Here he
chatted with his favorites among the wives and concu-
THE WAYS OF THE PALACE. 99
bines, and caressed his children, taking them in his arms,
embracing them, plying them with puzzling or funny
questions, and making droll faces at the babies : the more
agreeable the mother, the dearer the child. The love of
children was the constant and hearty virtue of this for
lorn despot. They appealed to him by their beauty and
their trustfulness, they refreshed him with the bold inno
cence of their ways, so frolicsome, graceful, and quaint.
From this delusive scene .of domestic condescension
and' kindliness he passed to his Hall of Audience to con
sider official matters. Twice a week at sunset he ap
peared at one of the gates of the palace to hear the com
plaints and petitions of the poorest of his subjects, who
at no other time or place could reach his ear. It was
most pitiful to see the helpless, awe-stricken wretches,
prostrate and abject as toads, many too terrified to present
the precious petition after all.
At nine he retired to his private apartments, whence
issued immediately peculiar domestic bulletins, in which
were named the women whose presence he particularly
desired, in addition to those whose turn it was to " wait "
that night.
And twice a week he held a secret council, or court, at
midnight. Of the proceedings of those dark and terrify
ing sittings I can, of course, give no exact account. I
permit myself to speak only of those things which were
but too plain to one who lived for six years in or near the
palace.
In Siam, the king — Maha Mongkut especially — as not
merely enthroned, he is enshrined. To the nobility he is
omnipotence, and to the rabble mystery. Since the occu
pation of the country by the Jesuits, many foreigners
have fancied that the government is becoming more and
more silent, insidious, secretive ; and that this midnight
council is but the expression of a " policy of stifling." It
100 THE WAYS OF THE PALACE.
is an inquisition, — not overt, audacious, like that of
Eome, but nocturnal, invisible, subtle, ubiquitous, like
that of Spain ; proceeding without witnesses or warning ;
kidnapping a subject, not arresting him, and then incar
cerating, chaining, torturing him, to extort confession or
denunciation. If any Siamese citizen utter one word
against the " San Luang," (the royal judges), and escape,
forthwith his house is sacked and his wife and children
kidnapped. Should he be captured, he is brought to
secret trial, to which no one is admitted who is not in
the patronage and confidence of the royal judges. In
themselves the laws are tolerable ; but in their opera
tion they are frustrated or circumvented by arbitrary
and capricious power in the king, or craft or cruelty
in the Council. No one not initiated in the mystic
stances of the San Luang can depend upon Siamese
law for justice. No man will consent to appear there,
even as a true witness, save for large reward. The citi
zen who would enjoy, safe from legal plunder, his private
income, must be careful to find a patron and protector in
the king, the prime minister, or some other formidable
friend at court. Spies in the employ of the San Luang
penetrate into every family of wealth and influence Ev
ery citizen suspects and fears always his neighbor, some
times his wife. On more than one occasion when, vexed
by some act of the king's, more than usually wanton and
unjust, I instinctively gave expression to my feelings by
word or look in the presence of certain officers and cour
tiers, I observed that they rapped, or tapped, in a pecu
liar and stealthy manner. This I afterward discovered
was one of the secret signs of the San Luang ; and the
warning signal was addressed to me, because they ima
gined that I also was a member of the Council.
En passant, a word as to the ordinary and familiar
costumes of the palace. Men and women alike wear a sort
THE WAYS OF THE PALACE. 101
of kilt, like the pu'sho of the Birmans, with a short upper
tunic, over which the women draw a broad silk scarf,
which is closely bound round the chest and descends in
long, waving folds almost to the feet. Neither sex wears
any covering on the head. The uniform of the Amazons
of the harem is green and gold, and for the soldiers scarlet
and purple.
There are usually four meals : breakfast about sunrise ;
a sort of tiffin at noon ; a more substantial repast in the
afternoon ; and supper after the business of the day is
over. Wine and tea are drunk freely, and perfumed
liquors are used by the wealthy. An indispensable prep
aration for polite repast is by bathing and anointing
the body. When guests are invited, the sexes are never
brought together ; for Siamese women of rank very rarely
appear in strange company ; they are confined to remote
and unapproachable halls and chambers, where nothing
human, being male, may ever enter. The convivial en
tertainments of the Court are usually given on occasions
of public devotion, and form a part of these.
XII.
SHADOWS AND WHISPEES OF THE HAEEM.
AS, month after month, I continued to teach in the
palace, — especially as the language of my pupils,
its idioms and characteristic forms of expression, began to
be familiar to me, — all the dim life of the place " came
out " to my ken, like a faint picture, which at first dis
plays to the eye only a formless confusion, a chaos of
colors, but by force of much looking and tracing and join
ing and separating, first objects and then groups are dis
covered in their proper identity and relation, until the
whole stands out, clear, true, and informing in its cohe
rent significance of light and shade. Thus, by slow pro
cesses, as one whose sight has been imperceptibly restored,
I aw^oke to a clearer and truer sense of the life within
" the city of the beautiful and invincible angel."
Sitting at one end of the table in my school-room, with
Boy at the other, and all those far-off faces between, I felt
as though we were twenty thousand miles away from the
world that lay but a twenty minutes' walk from the door ;
the distance was but a speck in space, but the separation
was tremendous. It always seemed to me that here was
a sudden, harsh suspension of nature's fundamental law,
— the human heart arrested in its functions, ceasing to
throb, and yet alive.
The fields beyond are fresh and green, and bright with
flowers. The sun of summer, rising exultant, greets them
with rejoicing ; and evening shadows, falling soft among
PRESENTATION OF A PRINCKSS.
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM. 103
the dewy petals, linger to kiss them good-night. There
the children of the poor — • naked, rude, neglected though
they be — are rich in the freedom of the bounteous earth,
rich in the freedom of the fair blue sky, rich in the free
dom of the limpid ocean of air above and around them.
But within the close and gloomy lanes of this city within
a city, through which many lovely women are wont to
come and go, many little feet to patter, and many baby
2itizens to be borne in the arms of their dodging slaves,
there is but cloud and chill, and famishing and stinting,
and beating of wings against golden bars. In the order
of nature, evening melts softly into night, and darkness
retreats with dignity and grace before the advancing tri
umphs of the morning ; but here light and darkness are
monstrously mixed, and the result is a glaring gloom that
is neither of the day nor of the night, nor of life nor of
death, nor of earth nor of — yes, hell !
In the long galleries and corridors, bewildering with
their everlasting twilight of the eye and of the mind,
one is forever coming upon shocks of sudden sunshine or
shocks of sudden shadow, — the smile yet dimpling in a
baby's face, a sister bearing a brother's scourging; a
mother singing to her "sacred infant,"* a slave sobbing
before a deaf idol. And 0, the forlornness of it all !
You who have never beheld these things know not the
utterness of loneliness. Compared with the predicament
of some who were my daily companions, the sea were a
home and an iceberg a hearth.
How I have pitied those ill-fated sisters of mine, im
prisoned without a crime ! If they could but have re
joiced once more in the freedom of the fields and woods,
what new births of gladness might have been theirs, —
they who with a gasp of despair and moral death first en
tered those royal dungeons, never again to come forth
* P'hra-ong.
104 SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM.
alive ! And yet have I known more than one among them
who accepted her fate with a repose of manner and a
sweetness of smile that told how dead must be the heart
under that still exterior. And I wondered at the si^ht.
o
Only twenty minutes between bondage and freedom, —
such freedom as may be found in Siam ! only twenty min
utes between those gloomy, hateful cells and the fair
fields and the radiant skies ! only twenty minutes between
the cramping and the suffocation and the fear, and the
full, deep, glorious inspirations of freedom and safety !
I had never beheld misery till I found it here ; I had
never looked upon the sickening hideousness of slavery
till I encountered its features here ; nor, above all, had I
comprehended the perfection of the life, light, blessedness
and beauty, the all-sufficing fulness of the love of God
as it is in Jesus, until I felt the contrast here, — pain, de
formity, darkness, death, and eternal emptiness, a dark
ness to which there is neither beginning nor end, a living
which is neither of this world nor of the next. The misery
which checks the pulse and thrills the heart with pity in
one's common walks about the great cities of Europe is
hardly so saddening as the nameless, mocking wretched
ness of these women, to whom poverty were a luxury,
and houselessness as a draught of pure, free air.
And yet their lot is light indeed compared with that of
their children. The single aim of such a hapless mother,
howsoever tender and devoted she may by nature be, is to
form her child after the one strict pattern her fate has set
her, — her master's will; since, otherwise, she dare not
contemplate the perils which might overtake her treas
ure. Pitiful indeed, therefore, is the pitiless inflexibility
of purpose with which she wings from her child's heart
all the dangerous endearments of childhood, — its merry
laughter, its sparkling tears, its trustfulness, its artless-
ness, its engaging waywardness ; and in their place in-
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM 105
stils silence, submission, self-constraint, suspicion, cun
ning, carefulness, and an ever-vigilant fear. And the
result is a spectacle of unnatural discipline simply appall
ing. The life of such a child is an egg-shell on an ocean ;
to its helpless speck of experience all horrors are possi
ble. Its passing moment is its eternity ; and that over
whelmed with terrors, real or imaginary, what is left but
that poor little floating wreck, a child's despair ?
I was often alone in the school-room, long after my
other charges had departed, with a pale, dejected woman,
whose name translated was " Hidden-Perfume." As a
pupil she was remarkably diligent and attentive, and in
reading and translating English her progress was extraor
dinary. Only in her eager, inquisitive glances was she
child-like ; otherwise, her expression and demeanor were
anxious and aged. She had long been out of favor with
her "lord"; and now, without hope from him, surren
dered herself wholly to her fondness for a son she had
borne him in her more youthful and attractive days. In
this young prince, who was about ten years old, the same
air of timidity and restraint was apparent as in his
mother, whom he strikingly resembled, only lacking that
cast of pensive sadness which rendered her so attractive,
and her pride, which closed her lips upon the past, though
the story of her wrongs wTas a moving one.
It was my habit to visit her twice a week at her resi
dence,* for I was indebted to her for much intelligent as
sistance in my study of the Siamese language. On going
to her abode one afternoon, I found her absent ; only the
young prince was there, sitting sadly by the window.
" Where is your mother, dear ? " I inquired.
" With his Majesty up stairs, I think," he replied, still
* Each of the ladies of the harem has her own exclusive domicile,
within the inner walls of the palace.
5*
106 SHADOWS AND WHISPEES OF THE HAREM.
looking anxiously in one direction, as though watching
for her.
This was an unusual circumstance for my sad, lonely
friend, and I returned home without my lesson for that
day.
Next morning, passing the house again, I saw the lad
sitting in the same attitude at the window, his eyes bent
in the same direction, only more wistful and weary than
before. On questioning him, I found his mother had not
yet returned. At the pavilion I was met by the Lady
Talap, who, seizing my hand, said, " Hidden-Perfume is in
trouble."
" What is the matter ? " I inquired.
" She is in prison," she whispered, drawing me closely
to her. " She is mot prudent, you know, — like you and
me," in a tone which expressed both triumph and fear.
" Can I see her ? " I asked.
" Yes, yes ! if you bribe the jailers. But don't give
them more than a tical each. They '11 demand two ; give
them only one."
In the pavilion, which served as a private chapel for
the ladies of the harem, priests were reading prayers
and reciting homilies from that sacred book of Buddha
called Sdsdndh Thai, " The Eeligion of the Free " ; while
the ladies sat on velvet cushions with their hands folded,
a vase of flowers in front of each, and a pair of odoriferous
candles, lighted. Prayers are held daily in this place,
and three times a day during the Buddhist Lent. The
priests are escorted to the pavilion by Amazons, and two
warriors, armed with swords and clubs, remain on guard
till the service is ended. The latter, who are eunuchs,
also attend the priests when they enter the palace, in
the afternoon, to sprinkle the inmates with consecrated
water.
Leaving the priests reciting and chanting, and the rapt
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM. 107
worshippers bowing, I passed a young mother with a
sleeping babe, some slave-girls playing at sabdh * on the
stone pavement, and two princesses borne in the arms of
their slaves, though almost women grown, on my way to
the palace prison.
If it ever should be the reader's fortune, good or ill, to
visit a Siamese dungeon, whether allotted to prince or
peasant, his attention will be first attracted to the rude
designs on the rough stone walls (otherwise decorated only
with moss and fungi and loathsome reptiles) of some night-
mared painter, who has exhausted his dyspeptic fancy in
portraying hideous personifications of Hunger, Terror, Old
Age, Despair, Disease, and Death, tormented by furies and
avengers, with hair of snakes and whips of scorpions, —
all beyond expression devilish. Floor it has none, nor
ceiling, for, with the Meinam so near, neither boards
nor plaster can keep out the ooze. Underfoot, a few
planks, loosely laid, are already as soft as the mud they
are meant to cover ; the damp has rotted them through
and through. Overhead, the roof is black, but not with
smoke ; for here, where the close steam of the soggy earth
and the reeking walls is almost intolerable, no fire is
needed in the coldest season. The cell is lighted by one
small window, so heavily grated on the outer side as ef
fectually to bar the ingress of fresh air. A pair of wooden
trestles, supporting rough boards, form a makeshift for a
bedstead, and a mat (which may be clean or dirty, the
ticals of the prisoner must settle that) is all the bed.
In such a cell, on such a couch, lay the concubine of a
supreme king and the mother of a royal prince of Siam,
her feet covered with a silk mantle, her head supported
by a pillow of glazed leather, her face turned to the
clammy wall.
There was no door to grate upon her quivering nerves ;
* Marbles, played with the knee instead of the fingers.
108 SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM.
a trap-door in the street overhead had opened to the
magic of silver, and I had descended a flight of broken
steps of stone. At her head, a little higher than the pil
low, were a vase of flowers, half faded, a pair of candles
burning in gold candlesticks, and a small image of the
Buddha. She had brought her god with her. Well, she
needed his presence.
I could hardly keep my feet, for the footing was slip
pery and my brain swam. Touching the silent, motion
less form, in a voice scarcely audible I pronounced her
name. She turned with difficulty, and a slight sound of
clanking explained the covering on the feet. She was
chained to one of the trestles.
Sitting up, she made room for me beside her. Xo tears
were in her eyes ; only the habitual sadness of her face
was deepened. Here, truly, was a perfect work of misery,
meekness, and patience.
Astonished at seeing me, she imagined me capable of
yet greater things, and folding her hands in an attitude of
supplication, implored me to help her. The offence for
which she was imprisoned was briefly this : —
She had been led to petition, through her son,* that an
appointment held by her late uncle, Phya Khien, might
be bestowed on her elder brother, not knowing that an
other noble had already been preferred to the post by his
Majesty.
Had she been, guilty of the gravest crime, her punish
ment could not have been more severe. It was plain that
a stupid grudge was at the bottom of this cruel business.
The king, on reading the petition, presented by the trem
bling lad on his knees, became furious, and, dashing it back
into the child's face, accused the mother of plotting to
undermine his power, saying he knew her to be at heart
a rebel, who hated him and his dynasty with all the
* A privilege granted to all the concubines.
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM. 109
rancor of her Peguan ancestors, the natural enemies of
Siam. Thus lashing himself into a rage of hypocritical
patriotism, and seeking to justify himself by condemning
her, he sent one of his judges to bring her to him. But
before the myrmidon could go and come, concluding to
dispense with forms, he anticipated the result of that
mandate with another, — to chain and imprison her. No
sooner was she dragged to this deadly cell, than a third
order was issued to flog her till she confessed her treach
erous plot ; but the stripes were administered so tenderly,*
that the only confession they extorted was a meek protes
tation that she was " his meanest slave, and ready to give
her life for his pleasure."
"Beat her on the mouth with a slipper for lying!"
roared the royal tiger ; and they did, in the letter, if not
in the spirit, of the brutal sentence. She bore it meekly,
hanging down her head. " I am degraded forever ! "
she said to me.
When once the king was enraged, there was nothing to
be done but to wait in patience until the storm should
exhaust itself by its own fury. But it was horrible to
witness such an abuse of power at the hands of one who
was the only source of justice in the land. It was a
crime against all humanity, the outrage of the strong
upon the helpless. His madness sometimes lasted a
week ; but weeks have their endings. Besides, he really
had a conscience, tough and shrunken as it was ; and
she had, what was more to the purpose, a whole tribe of
powerful connections.
As for myself, there was but one thing I could do ;
and that was to intercede privately with the Kralahome.
The same evening, immediately on returning from my
visit to the dungeon, I called on him ; but when I ex-
* Tn these caseS the executioners are women, who generally spare each
other if they dare.
110 SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM.
plained the object of my visit he rebuked me sharply
for interfering between his Majesty and his wives.
" She is my pupil," I replied. " But I have not inter
fered ; I have only come to you for justice. She did not
know of the appointment until she had sent in her peti
tion ; and to punish one woman for that which is permit
ted and encouraged in another is gross injustice." There
upon he sent for his secretary, and having satisfied him
self that the appointment had not been published, was
good enough to promise that he would explain to his Maj
esty that " there had been delay in making known to the
Court the royal pleasure in this matter " ; but he spoke
with indifference, as if thinking of something else.
I felt chilled and hurt as I left the premier's palace,
and more anxious than ever when I thought of the weary
eyes of the lonely lad watching for his mother's return ;
for no one dared tell him the truth. But, to do the pre
mier justice, he was more troubled than he would permit
me to discover at the mistake the poor woman had made ;
for there was good stuff in the moral fabric of the man,
— stern rectitude, and a judgment, unlike the king's, not
warped by passion. That very night * he repaired to the
Grand Palace, and explained the delay to the king, with
out appearing to be aware of the concubine's punish
ment.
On Monday morning, when I came to school in the
pavilion, I found, to my great joy, that Hidden-Perfume
had been liberated, and was at home again with her child.
The poor creature embraced me ardently, glorifying me
with grateful epithets from the extravagant vocabulary of
her people ; and, taking an emerald ring from her finger,
she put it upon mine, saying, " By this you will remem
ber your thankful friend."
* All consultations on matters of state and of court discipline are
held in the royal palace at night.
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM. Ill
On the following day she also sent me a small purse
of gold thread netted, in which were a few Siamese coins,
and a scrap of paper inscribed with cabalistic characters, —
an infallible charm to preserve the wearer from poverty
arid distress.
Among my pupils was a little girl about eight or nine
years old, of delicate frame, and with the low voice and
subdued manner of one who had already had experience
of sorrow. She was not among those presented to me at
the opening of the school. Wanne Batana Kania was her
name ("Sweet Promise of my Hopes"), and very engaging
and persuasive was she in her patient, timid loveliness.
Her mother, the Lady Khoon Chom Kioa, who had once
found favor with the king, had, at the time of my coming
to the palace, fallen into disgrace by reason of her gam
bling, in which she had squandered all the patrimony of
the little princess. This fact, instead of inspiring the
royal father with pity for his child, seemed to attract to
her all that was most cruel in his insane temper. The
offence of the mother had made the daughter offensive in
his sight ; and it was not until long after the term of im
prisonment of the degraded favorite had expired that
Wanne ventured to appear at a royal levde. The moment
the king caught sight of the little form, so piteously
prostrated there, he drove her rudely from his presence,
taunting her with the delinquencies of her mother with a
coarseness that would have been cruel enough if she had
been responsible for them and a gainer by them, but
against one of her tender years, innocent toward both,
and injured by both, it was inconceivably atrocious.
On her first appearance at school she was so timid and
wistful that I felt constrained to notice and encourage
her more than those whom I had already with me. But
I found this no easy part to play ; for very soon one of
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM.
the court ladies in the confidence of the king took me
quietly aside and warned me to be less demonstrative in
favor of the little princess, saying, " Surely you would
not bring trouble upon that wounded lamb."
It was a sore trial to me to witness the oppression of
one so unoffending and so helpless. Yet our Wanne was
neither thin nor pale. There was a freshness in her
childish beauty, and a bloom in the transparent olive of
her cheek, that were at times bewitching. She loved her
father, and in her visions of baby faith beheld him almost
as a god. It was true joy to her to fold her hands and
bow before the chamber where he slept. With that
steadfast hopefulness of childhood which can be deceived
without being discouraged, she would say, " How glad he
will be when I can read ! " and yet she had known noth
ing but despair.
Her memory was extraordinary ; she delighted in all
that was remarkable, and with careful wisdom gathered
up facts and precepts and saved them for future use.
She seemed to have built around her an invisible temple
' of her own design, and to have illuminated it with the
rushlight of her childish love. Among the books she read
to me, rendering it from English into Siamese, was one
called " Spring-time." On translating the line, " Whom
He loveth he chasteneth," she looked up in my face, and
asked anxiously : " Does thy God do that ? Ah ! lady, are
all the gods angry and cruel ? Has he no pity, even for
those who love him ? He must be like my father ; he
loves us, so he has to be rye (cruel), that we may fear evil
and avoid it."
Meanwhile little Wanne learned to spell, read, and trans
late almost intuitively ; for there were novelty and hope
to help the Buddhist child, and love to help the English
woman. The sad look left her face, her life had found an
interest ; and very often, on fete days, she was my only
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM. 113
pupil ; — when suddenly an ominous cloud obscured the
sky of her transient gladness.
Wanne was poor ; and her gifts to me were of the riches
of poverty, — fruits and flowers. But she owned some
female slaves ; and one among them, a woman of twenty-
five perhaps (who had already made a place for herself in
my regard), seemed devotedly attached to her youthful
mistress, and not only attended her to the school day after
day, but shared her scholarly enthusiasm, even studied
with her, sitting at her feet by the table. Steadily the
slave kept pace with the princess. All that Wanne learned
at school in the day was lovingly taught to Mai Noie in
the nursery at night ; and it was not long before I found,
to my astonishment, that the slave read and translated as
correctly as her mistress.
Very delightful were the demonstrations of attachment
interchanged between these two. Mai Noie bore the child
in her arms to and from the school, fed her, humored her
every whim, fanned her naps, bathed and perfumed her
every night, and then rocked her to sleep on her careful
bosom, as tenderly as she would have done for her own
baby. And then it was charming to watch the child's face
kindle with love and comfort as the sound of her friend's
step approached.
Suddenly a change ; the little princess came to school
as usual, but a strange woman attended her, and I saw
no more of Mai Noie there. The child grew so listless
and wretched that I was forced to ask the cause of her
darling's absence ; she burst into a passion of tears, but
replied not a word. Then I inquired of the stranger, and
she answered in two syllables, — My ru (" I know not ").
Shortly afterward, as I entered the school-room one
d< y, I perceived that something unusual was happening.
I turned toward the princes' door, and stood still, fairly
holding my breath. There was the king, furious, striding
114 SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM.
up and down. All the female judges of the palace were
present, and a crowd of mothers and royal children. On
all the steps around, innumerable slave-women, old and
young, crouched and hid their faces.
But the object most conspicuous was little Wanne's
mother, manacled, and prostrate on the polished marble
pavement. There, too, was my poor little princess, her
hands clasped helplessly, her eyes tearless but downcast,
palpitating, trembling, shivering. Sorrow and horror had
transformed the child.
As well as I could understand, where no one dared ex
plain, the wretched woman had been gambling again, and
had even staked and lost her daughter's slaves. At last I
understood Wanne's silence when I asked her where Mai
Noie was. By some means — spies probably — the whole
matter had come to the king's ears, and his rage was wild,
not because he loved the child, but that he hated the
mother.
Promptly the order was given to lash the woman ; and
two Amazons advanced to execute it. The first stripe
was delivered with savage skill; but before the thong
could descend again, the child sprang forward and flung
herself across the bare and quivering back of her mother.
Ti chan, Tim Moom I * Poot-thoo ti chan, Tha Mom !
(" Strike me, my father ! Pray, strike me, 0 my father ! " )
The pause of fear that followed was only broken by
my boy, who, with a convulsive cry, buried his face des
perately in the folds of my skirt.
There indeed was a case for prayer, any prayer ! — the
prostrate woman, the hesitating lash, the tearless anguish
of the Siamese child, the heart-rending cry of the English
child, all those mothers with grovelling brows, but hearts
uplifted among the stars, on the wings of the Angel of
Prayer. Who could behold so many women crouching,
* Tha Mom or Moom, used by children in addressing a royal father.
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS OF THE HAREM. 115
shuddering, stupefied, dismayed, in silence and darkness,
animated, enlightened only by the deep whispering heart
of maternity, and not be moved with mournful yearn
ing ?
The child's prayer was vain. As demons tremble in
the presence of a god, so the king comprehended that he
had now to deal with a power of weakness, pity, beauty,
courage, and eloquence. " Strike me, 0 my father ! "
His quick, clear sagacity measured instantly all the dan
ger in that challenge ; and though his voice was thick and
agitated (for, monster as he was at that moment, he could
not but shrink from striking at every mother's heart at
his feet), he nervously gave the word to remove the child,
and bind her. The united strength of several women was
not more than enough to loose the clasp of those loving
arms from the neck of an unworthy mother. The tender
hands and feet were bound, and the tender heart was
broken. The lash descended then, unforbidden by any
cry.
XIII.
EA-YING, THE KING'S DAELING.
"~T1TT~ILL you teach me to draw ? " said an irresistible
VV young voice to me, as I sat at the school-room
table, one bright afternoon. " It is so much more pleasant
to sit by you than to go to my Sanskrit class. My San
skrit teacher is not like my English teacher ; she bends
my hands back when I make mistakes. I don't like
Sanskrit, I like English. There are so many pretty pic
tures in your books. Will you take me to England
with you, Mam cha ? " * pleaded the engaging little
prattler.
" I am afraid his Majesty will not let you go with me,"
I replied.
" 0 yes, he will ! " said the child with smiling con
fidence. " He lets me do as I like. You know I am the
Somdetch Chow Fa-ying ; he loves me best of all ; he
will let me go."
" I am glad to hear it," said I, " and very glad to hear
that you love English and drawing. Let us go up and
ask his Majesty if you may learn drawing instead of
Sanskrit."
With sparkling eyes and a happy smile, she sprang from
my lap, and, seizing my hand eagerly, said, " 0 yes ! let
us go now." We went, and our prayer was granted.
Never did work seem more like pleasure than it did to
me as I sat with this sweet, bright little princess, day
* "Lady dear."
FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING. 117
after day, at the hour when all her brothers and sisters
were at their Sanskrit, drawing herself, as the humor
seized her, or watching me draw ; but oftener listening,
her large questioning eyes fixed upon my face, as step by
step I led her out of the shadow-land of myth into the
realm of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. " The wis
dom of this world is foolishness with God " ; and I felt
that this child of smiles and tears, all nnbaptized and
unblessed as she was, was nearer and dearer to her Father
in heaven than to her father on earth.
This was the Somdetch Chowfa Chandrmondol, best
known in the palace by her pet name of Fa-ying. Her
mother, the late queen consort, in dying, left three sons
and this one daughter, whom, with peculiar tenderness
and anxiety, she commended to the loving-kindness of
the king ; and now the child was the fondled darling of
the lonely, bitter man, having quickly won her way to his
heart by the charm of her fearless innocence and trust
fulness, her sprightly intelligence and changeful grace.
Morning dawned fair on the river, the sunshine flicker
ing on the silver ripples, and gilding the boats of the
market people as they softly glide up or down to the lazy
swing of the oars. The floating shops were all awake,
displaying their various and fantastic wares to attract
the passing citizen or stranger. Priests in yellow robes
moved noiselessly from door to door, receiving without
asking and without thanks the alms wherewith their pious
clients hoped to lay Tip treasures in heaven, or, in Budd
hist parlance, to "make merit." Slaves hurried hither
and thither in the various bustle of errands. Worship
pers thronged the gates and vestibules of the many tem
ples of this city of pagodas and p'hra-cha-dees, and myr
iads of fan-shaped bells scattered aeolian melodies on the
passing breeze.
118 FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING.
As Boy and I gazed from our piazza on this strangely
picturesque panorama, there swept across the river a royal
barge filled with slaves, who, the moment they had landed,
hurried up to me.
" My lady," they cried, " there is cholera in the palace !
Three slaves are lying dead in the princesses' court ; and
her Highness, the young Somdetch Chow Fa-ying, was
seized this morning. She sends for you. 0, come to
her, quickly ! " and with that they put into my hand a
scrap of paper ; it was from his Majesty.
" MY DEAR MAM, — Our well-beloved daughter, your
favorite pupil, is attacked with cholera, and has earnest
desire to see you, and is heard much to make frequent
repetition of your name. I beg that you will favor her
wish. I fear her illness is mortal, as there has been
three deaths since morning. She is best beloved of niy
children.
" I am your afflicted friend,
" S. S. P. P. MAHA MONGKUT."
In a moment I was in my boat. I entreated, I flat
tered, I scolded, the rowers. How slow they were ! how
strong the opposing current ! And when we did reach
those heavy gates, how slowly they moved, with what
suspicious caution they admitted me ! I was fierce with
impatience. And when at last I stood panting at the
door of my Fa-ying's chamber — too late ! even Dr.
Campbell (the surgeon of the British consulate) had come
too late.
There was no need to prolong that anxious wail in the
ear of the deaf child, " P'hra-Arahang ! P'hra-Arahang ! " *
She would not forget her way ; she would nevermore lose
herself on the road to Heaven. Beyond, SPbove the P'hra-
* One of the most sacred of the many titles of Buddha, repeated by
the nearest relative in the ear of the dying till life is quite extinct.
FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING. 119
Arahang, she had soared into the eternal, tender arms of
the P'hra-Jesus, of whom she was wont to say in her in
fantine wonder and eagerness, Mam cha, chdn rdk P'hra-
Jcsus mdk (" Mam dear, I love your holy Jesus.")
As I stooped to imprint a parting kiss on the little face
that had been so fair to me, her kindred and slaves ex
changed their appealing " P'hra- Arahang " for a sudden
burst of heart-rending cries.
An attendant hurried me to the king, who, reading the
heavy tidings in my silence, covered his face, with his
hands and wept passionately. Strange and terrible were
the tears of such a man, welling up from a heart from
which all natural affections had seemed to be expelled, to
make room for his own exacting, engrossing conceit of self.
Bitterly he bewailed his darling, calling her by such
tender, touching epithets as the lips of loving Christian
mothers use. What could I say ? What could I do but
weep with him, and then steal quietly away and leave
the king to the Father ?
"The moreover very sad & mournful Circular* from
His Gracious Majesty Somdetch P'hra Pararnendr Maha
Mongkut, the reigning Supreme King of Siam, intimating
the recent death of Her Celestial Royal Highness, Prin
cess Somdetch Chowfa Chandrmondol Sobhon Baghiawati,
who was His Majesty's most affectionate & well beloved
9th Royal daughter or 16th offspring, and the second
Royal child by His Majesty's late Queen consort Rambery
Bhainarabhiramy who deceased in the year 1861. Both
mother and daughter have been known to many foreign
friends of His Majesty.
" To all the foreign friends of His Majesty, residing or
trading in Siam, or in Singapore, Malacca, Pinang, Cey
lon, Batavia, Saigon, Macao, Hong-kong, & various regions
in China, Europe, America, &c. &c
* From the pen of the king.
120 FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING.
" Her Celestial Royal Highness, having been born on
the 24th April, 1855, grew up in happy condition of her
royal valued life, under the care of her Royal parents, as
well as her elder and younger three full brothers ; and on
the demise of her royal mother on the forementioned
date, she was almost always with her Royal father every
where day & night. All things which belonged to her
late mother suitable for female use were transferred to
her as the most lawful inheritor of her late royal mother ;
She grew up to the age of 8 years & 20 days. On the
ceremony of the funeral service of her elder late royal
half brother forenamed, She accompanied her royal es
teemed father & her royal brothers and sisters in custom
ary service, cheerfully during three days of the ceremony,
from the llth to 13th May. On the night of the latter
day, when she was returning from the royal funeral place
to the royal residence in the same sedan with her Royal
father at 10 o'clock P. M. she yet appeared happy, but
alas ! on her arrival at the royal residence, she was at
tacked by most violent & awful cholera, and sunk rapidly
before the arrival of the physicians who were called on
that night for treatment. Her disease or illness of cholera
increased so strong that it did not give way to the treat
ment of any one, or even to the Chlorocline administered
to her by Doctor James Campbell the Surgeon of the
British Consulate. She expired at 4 o'clock p. M., on the
14th May, when her elder royal half brother's remains
were burning at the funeral hall outside of the royal pal
ace, according to the determined time for the assembling
of the great congregation of the whole of the royalty &
nobility, and native & foreign friends, before the occur
rence of the unforeseen sudden misfortune or mournful
event.
" The sudden death of the said most affectionate and
lamented royal daughter has caused greater regret and
FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING. 121
sorrow to her Royal father than several losses sustained
by him before, as this beloved Royal amiable daughter
was brought up almost by the hands of His Majesty
himself, since she was aged only 4 to 5 months, His Maj
esty has carried her to and fro by his hand and on the
lap and placed her by his side in every one of the Royal
seats, where ever he went ; whatever could be done ill the
way of nursing His Majesty has done himself, by feeding
her with milk obtained from her nurse, and sometimes
with the milk of the cow, goat &c. poured in a teacup
from which His Majesty fed her by means of a spoon, so
this Royal daughter was as familiar with her father in her
infancy, as with her nurses.
" On her being only aged six months, his Majesty took
this Princess with him and went to Ayudia on affairs
there ; after that time when she became grown up His
Majesty had the princess seated on his lap when he was
in his chair at the breakfast, dinner & supper table, and
fed her at the same time of breakfast &c, almost every
day, except when she became sick of colds &c. until the
last days of her life she always eat at same table with her
father. Where ever His Majesty went, this princess al
ways accompanied her father upon the same, sedan, car
riage, Royal boat, yacht &c. and on her being grown up
she became more prudent than other children of the same
age, she paid every affectionate attention to her affection
ate and esteemed father in every thing where her ability
allowed ; she was well educated in the vernacular Siam
ese literature which she commenced to study when she
was 3 years old, and in last year she commenced to study
in the English School where the schoolmistress, Lady
L — - has observed that she was more skillful than the
other royal Children, she pronounced & spoke English in
articulate & clever manner which pleased the schoolmis
tress exceedingly, so that the schoolmistress 011 the loss
6
122 FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING.
of this her beloved pupil, was in great sorrow and wept
much.
" . . . . But alas ! her life was very short. She was only
aged 8 years & 20 days, reckoning from her birth day &
hour, she lived in this world 2942 days & 18 hours. But it
is known that the nature of human lives is like the flames
of candles lighted in open air without any protection above
& every side, so it is certain that this path ought to be
followed by every one of human beings in a short or long
while which cannot be ascertained by prediction, Alas !
"Dated Koyal Grand Palace, Bangkok, 16th May, Anno
Christi 1863."
Not long after our darling Fa-ying was taken from us,
the same royal barge, freighted with the same female
slaves who had summoned us to her death-bed, came in
haste to our house. His Majesty had sent them to find
and bring us. We must hurry to the palace. On arriv
ing there, we found the school pavilion strangely decorated
with flowers. My chair of office had been freshly painted
a glaring red, and on the back and round the arms and
legs fresh flowers were twined. The books the Princess
Fa-ying had lately conned were carefully displayed in
front of my accustomed seat, and upon them were laid
fresh roses and fragrant lilies. Some of the ladies in
waiting informed me that an extraordinary honor was
about to be conferred on me. Not relishing the prospect
of favors that might place me in a false position, and
still all in the dark, I submitted quietly, but not without
misgivings on my own part and positive opposition on
Boy's, to be enthroned in the gorgeous chair, whereof the
paint was hardly dry. Presently his Majesty sent to
inquire if we had arrived, and being apprised of our
presence, came down at once, followed by all my pupils
and a formidable staff of noble dowagers, — his sisters,
half-sisters, and aunts, paternal and maternal.
FA-YIN G, THE KING'S DARLING. 123
Having shaken hands with me and with my child, he
proceeded to enlighten us. He was about to confer a
distinction upon me, for my " courage and conduct," as he
expressed it, at the death-bed of her Highness, his well-
beloved royal child, the Somdetch Chow Fa-ying. Then,
bidding me " remain seated," much to the detriment of
my white dress, in the sticky red chair, and carefully tak
ing the ends of seven threads of unspun cotton (whereof
the other ends were passed over my head, and over the
dead child's books, into the hands of seven of his elder
sisters), he proceeded to wind them round my brow and
temples. Next he waved mysteriously a few gold coins,
then dropped twenty-one drops of cold water out of a
jewelled shell,* and finally, muttering something in San
skrit, and placing in my hand a small silk bag containing
a title of nobility and the number and description of the
roods of lands pertaining to it, bade me rise, " Chow Khoon
Crue Yai"!
My estate was in the district of Lophaburee and P'hra
Batt, and I found afterward that to reach it I must per
form a tedious journey overland, through a wild, dense
jungle, on the back of an elephant. So, with wise
munificence, I left it to my people, tigers, elephants,
rhinoceroses, wild boars, armadillos, and monkeys to en
joy unmolested and untaxed, while I continued to pur
sue the even tenor of a " school-marm's " way, unagitated
by my honorary title. In fact, the whole affair was ridicu
lous ; and I was inclined to feel a little ashamed of the
distinction, when I reflected on the absurd figure I must
have cut, with my head in a string like a grocer's parcel,
and Boy imploring me, with all his astonished eyes, not
to submit to so silly an operation. So he and I tacitly
agreed to hush the matter up between us.
Speaking of the " chank " shell, that is the name
* The conch or chank shelL
124 FA-YING, THE KING'S DARLING.
given in the East Indies to certain varieties of the valuta
gravis, fished up by divers in the Gulf of Manaar, on the
northwest coast of Ceylon. There are two kinds, payel
and patty, — the one red, the other white ; the latter is of
small value. These shells are exported to Calcutta and
Bombay, where they are sawed into rings of various sizes,
and worn on the arms, legs, fingers, and toes by the Hin
doos, from whom the Buddhists have adopted the shell for
use in their religious or political ceremonies. They em
ploy, however, a third species, which opens to the right,
and is rare and costly. The demand for these shells,
created by the innumerable poojahs and pageants of the
Hindoos and Buddhists, was formerly so great that a
bounty of sixty thousand rix dollars per annum was
paid to the British government for the privilege of fishing
for them ; but this demand finally ceased, and the revenue
became not worth collecting. The fishing is now free to
all.
XIV.
AN OUTEAGE AND A WARNING.
ONE morning we were startled by a great outcry, from
which we presently began to pick out, here and
there, a coherent word, which, put together, signified that
Moonshee was once more in trouble. I ran down into the
compound, and found that the old man had been cruelly
beaten, by order of one of the premier's half-brothers, for
refusing to bow down before him. Exhausted as he was,
he found voice to express his sense of the outrage in in
dignant iteration. " Am I a beast ? Am I an unbeliev
ing dog ? 0 son of Jaffur Khan, how hast thou fallen ! "
I felt so shocked and insulted that I went at once, and
without ceremony, to the Kralahome, and complained.
To my surprise and disgust, his Excellency made light of
the matter, saying .that the old man was a fool; that he
had no time to waste upon such trifles ; and that I must
not trouble him so often with my meddling in matters of
no moment, and which did not concern me.
When he was done with this explosion of petulance
and brow-beating, I endeavored to demonstrate to him the
unfairness of his remarks, and the disadvantage to himself
if he should appear to connive at the ruffianly behavior
of his people. But I assured him that in future I should
not trouble him with my complaints, but take them
directly to the British Consul. And so saying I left this
unreasonable prime minister, meeting the cause of all our
woes (the half-brother) coming in as I went out.
126 AN OUTRAGE AND A WARNING.
That same evening, as I sat in our little piazza, where
it was cooler than in the house, embroidering a new coat
for Boy to wear on his approaching birthday, I felt a vio
lent blow on my head, and fell from my chair stunned,
overturning the small table at which I was working, and
the heavy Argand lamp that stood on it.
On recovering my senses I found myself in the dark,
and Boy, with all his little strength, trying to lift me
from the floor, while he screamed, " Beebe maree ! Bccbe
maree / " * I endeavored to rise, but feeling dizzy and
sick lay still for a while, taking Louis in my arms to re
assure him.
When Beebe came from the river, where she had been
bathing, she struck a light, and found that the mischief
had been done with a large stone, about four inches long
and two wide ; but by whom or why it had been thrown
we could not for some time conjecture. Beebe raised the
neighborhood with her cries: "First my husband, then
my mistress ! It will be my turn next ; and then what
will become of the cliota laba sahib .?"•)• But I begged
her to have done with her din and help me to the couch,
which she did with touching tenderness and quiet, bath
ing my head, which had bled so profusely that I sank, ex
hausted, into a deep sleep, though the sight of my boy's
pale, anxious face, as he insisted on sharing Beebe's vigil,
would have been more than enough to keep me awake at
any other time. When I awoke in the morning, there sat
the dear little fellow in a chair asleep, but dressed, his
head resting on my pillow.
I now felt so much better, though my head was badly
swollen, that I rose and paid a visit to Moonshee, who
was really ill, though not dying, as his wife declared.
The shame and outrage of his beating was the occasion
of much sorrow and trouble to me, for my Persian teacher
* Maree, "Come here" (Malay). t The little master.
AN OUTRAGE AND A WARNING. 127
now begged to be sent back to Singapore, and I thought that
Beebe could not be persuaded to let him go alone, though
my heart had been set on keeping them with me as long
as I remained in Siam. It was in vain that I tried to
convince the terrified old man that such a catastrophe
could hardly happen again; he would not be beguiled,
but, shedding faithful tears at the sight of my bandaged
head, declared we should all be murdered if we tarried
another day in a land of such barbarous Kafirs. I as
sured him that my wound was but skin-deep, and that I
apprehended no further violence. But all to no purpose ;
I was obliged to promise them that they should depart
by the next trip of the Chow Phya steamer.
I deemed it prudent, however, to send for the pre
mier's secretary, and warn him, in his official capacity, that
if a repetition of the outrage already perpetrated upon
members of my household should be attempted from any
quarter, I would at once take refuge at the British con
sulate, and lodge a complaint against the government of
Siam.
Mr. Hunter, who was always very serious when he was
sober and very volatile when he was not, took the matter
to heart, stared long and thoughtfully at my bandaged
head and pallid countenance, and abruptly started for the
premier's palace, whence he returned on the following
day with several copies of a proclamation in the Siamese
language, signed by his Excellency, to the effect that per
sons found injuring or in any way molesting any member
of my household should be severely punished. I desired
him to leave one or two of them, in a friendly way, at the
house of my neighbor on the left, the Kralahome's half-
brother ; for it was he, and no other, who had committed
this most cowardly act of revenge. The expression of
Mr. Hunter's face, as the truth slowly dawned upon him,
was rich in its blending of indignation, disgust, and con-
128 AN OUTRAGE AND A WARNING.
tempt. " The pusillanimous rascal ! " he exclaimed, as he
hurried off in the direction indicated.
" The darkest hour is just before day." So the gloom
now cast over our little circle by Moonshee's departure
was quickly followed by the light of love in Beebe's tear
ful eyes as she bade her husband adieu. "How could
she," she asked, " leave her Mem and the chota laba sahib
alone in a strange land ? "
XV.
THE CITY OF BANGKOK.
A SCEKDING the Meinam (or Chow Phya) from the
JL\- gulf, and passing Paknam, the paltry but pictu
resque seaport already described, we come next to Pak-
lat Beeloo, or " Little Paklat," so styled to distinguish
it from Paklat Boon, a considerable town higher up the
river, which we shall presently inspect as we steam
toward Bangkok. Though, strictly speaking, Paklat Bee-
loo is a mere cluster of huts, the humble dwellings of a
colony of farmers and rice-planters, it is nevertheless a
place of considerable importance as a depot for the prod
ucts of the ample fields and gardens which surround it
on every side. The rice and vegetables which these
supply are shipped for the markets of Bangkok and
Ayudia. At Paklat Beeloo that bustle of traffic begins
which, more and more as we approach the capital, imparts
to the river its characteristic aspect of activity and thrift,
— an animated procession of boats of various form and
size, deeply laden with grain, garden stuffs, and fruits,
drifting with the friendly helping tide, and requiring little
or no manual labor for their navigation, as they sweep
along tranquilly, steadily, from bank to bank, from village
to village.
Diverse as are the styles and uses of these boats, the
most convenient, and therefore the most common, are the
Eua-keng and the Eua-pet. The former resembles in all
respects the Venetian gondola, while the Eua-pet has
6* I
130 THE CITY OF BANGKOK.
either a square house with windows amidships, or (more
commonly) a basket cover, long and round, like the tent-
top of some Western wagons. The dimensions of many
of these boats are sufficient to accommodate an entire
family, with their household goods and merchandise, yet
one seldom sees more than a single individual in charge
of them. The tide, running strongly up or down, affords
the motive-power ; " the crew " has but to steer. Often
unwieldy, and piled clumsily with cargo, one might
reasonably suppose their safe piloting to be a nautical
impossibility ; yet so perfect is the skill — the instinct,
rather — of these almost amphibious river-folk, that a little
child, not uncommonly a girl, shall lead them. Accidents
are marvellously rare, considering the thousands of large,
heavy, handsome keng boats that ply continually between
the gulf and the capital, now lost in a sudden bend of
the stream, now emerging from behind a screen of man
groves, and in their swift descent threatening quick de
struction to the small and fragile market-boats, freighted
with fish and poultry, fruit and vegetables.
From Paklat Beeloo a great canal penetrates directly
to the heart of Bangkok, cutting off thirty miles from the
circuitous river route. But the traveller, faithful to the
picturesque, will cling to the beautiful Meinam, which
will entertain him with scenery more and more charming
as he approaches the capital, — higher lands, a neater
cultivation, hamlets and villages quaintly pretty, fantastic
temples and pagodas dotting the plain, fine Oriental
effects of form and color, scattered Edens of fruit-trees, —
the mango, the mangostein, the bread-fruit, the durian,
the orange, — their dark foliage contrasting boldly with
the more lively and lovely green of the betel, the tama
rind, and the banana. Every curve of the river is beautiful
with an unexpectedness of its own, — here the sugar-cane
swaying gracefully, there the billow-like lights and shad-
THE CITY OF BANGKOK. 131
ows of the supple, feathery bamboo, and everywhere ideal
paradises of refreshment and repose. As we drift on the
flowing thoroughfare toward the golden spires of Bangkok,
kaleidoscopic surprises of summer salute us on either hand.
Presently we come to Paklat Boon, a place of detached
cottages and orchards, fondly courting the river, the pretty
homesteads of husbandmen and gardeners. Here, too, is
a dock-yard for the construction of royal barges and war-
boats, some of them more than eighty feet long, with
less than twelve feet beam.
From Paklat Boon to Bangkok the scene is one of ever-
increasing splendor, the glorious river seeming to array
itself more and more grandly, as for the admiration of
kings, and proudly spreading its waters wide, as a cour
tier spreads his robes. Its lake-like expanses, without a
spiteful rock or shoal, are alive with ships, barks, brigs,
junks, proas, sampans, canoes ; and the stranger is beset
by a flotilla of river pedlers, expertly sculling under the
stern of the steamer, and shrilly screaming the praises of
their wares ; while here and there, in the thick of the
bustle and scramble and din, a cunning, quick-handed
Chinaman, in a crank canoe, ladles from a steaming cal
dron his savory chow-chow soup, and serves it out in
small white bowls to hungry customers, who hold their
peace for a time and loll upon their oars, enraptured by
the penetrating brew.
Three miles below the capital are the royal dock-yards,
where most of the ships composing the Siamese navy and
merchant marine are built, under the supervision of Eng
lish shipwrights. Here, also, craft from Hong-Kong,
Canton, Singapore, Rangoon, and other ports, that have
been disabled at sea, are repaired more thoroughly and
cheaply than in any other port in the East. There are,
likewise, several dry-docks, and, in fact, an establishment
completely equipped and intelligently managed.
132 THE CITY OF BANGKOK.
A short distance below the dock-yards is the American
Mission, comprising the dwellings of the missionaries
and a modest school-house and chapel, the latter having a
fair attendance of consuls and their children. Above the
dock-yards is the Roman Catholic establishment, a quiet
little settlement clustered about a small cross-crowned
sanctuary.
Yet one more bend of the tortuous river, and the
strange panorama of the floating city unrolls like a great
painted canvas before us, — piers and rafts of open shops,
with curious wares and fabrics exposed at the very water's
edge; and beyond and above these the magnificent
"watts" and pagodas with which the capital abounds.
These pagodas, and the plira-clui-dccs, or minarets,
that crown some of the temples, are in many cases true
wonders of cunning workmanship and profuse adornment
— displaying mosaics of fine porcelain, inlaid with ivory,
gold, and silver, while the lofty doors and windows are
overlaid with sculptures of grotesque figures from the
Buddhist and Brahminical mythologies. Near the Grand
Palace are three tall pillars of elegant design, everywhere
inlaid with variegated stones, and so richly gilt that they
are the wonder and the pride of all the country round.
These monuments mark the places of deposit of a few
charred bones that once were three demigods of Siam, — •
the kings P'hra Rama Thibodi, P'hra Narai, and P'hra
Phya Tak, who did doughty deeds of valor and prowess
in earlier periods of Siamese history.
The Grand Ixoyal Palace, the semi-castellated residence
of the Supreme King of Siam, with its roofs and spires
pointed with what seem to be the horns of animals,
towers pre-eminent over all the city. It is a great cita
del, surrounded by a triplet of walls, fortified with many
bastions. Each of the separate buildings it comprises is
cruciform ; and even the palace lately erected in the style
THE CITY OF BANGKOK. 133
of Windsor Castle forms with the old palace the arms of
a cross, as the latter does with the Phrasat, — and so on
down to an odd little conceit in architecture, in the Chi
nese style throughout.
In front of the old palace is an ample enclosure, paved,
and surrounded with beautiful trees and rare plants. A
gateway, guarded by a pair of colossal lions and two
gigantic and frightful nondescripts, half demon, half
human, leads to the old palace, now almost abandoned.
Beyond this, and within the third or innermost wall, is
the true heart of the citadel, the quarters of the women
of the harem. This is in itself a sort of miniature city,
with streets, shops, bazaars, and gardens, all occupied and
tended by women only. Outside are the observatory and
watch-tower.
Some of the grandest and most beautiful temples and
pagodas of Siam are in this part of the city. On one
side of the palace are the temples and monasteries dedi
cated to the huge Sleeping Idol, and on the other the
mass of buildings that constitute the palace and harem
of the Second King. From these two palaces broad streets
extend for several miles, occupied on either side by the
principal shops and bazaars of Bangkok.
Leaving the Grand Palace, a short walk to the right
brings us to the monuments, already mentioned, of the
three warrior kings. From noble pedestals of fine black
granite, adorned at top and bottom with cornices and
rings of ivory, carved in mythological forms of animals,
birds, and flowers, rise conical pillars about fifty feet high.
The columns themselves are in mosaic, with diverse mate
rial inlaid upon the solid masonry so carefully that the
cement can hardly be detected. ~No two patterns are
the same, striking effects of form and color have been
studied, and the result is beautiful beyond description.
Close beside these a third pillar was lately in process of
134 THE CITY OF BANGKOK.
erection, to the memory of the good King P'hra-Phen-den
Klang, father of his late Majesty, Somdetch P'hra-Para-
mendr Malm Mongkut.
On the outer skirt of the walled town stands the tem
ple Watt Brahmanee Waid, dedicated to the divinity
to whom the control of the universe has been ascribed
from the most ancient times. His temple is the only
shrine of a Brahininical deity that the followers of Buddha
have not dared to abolish. Intelligent Buddhists hold
that he exists in the latent forces of nature, that his only
attribute is benevolence, though he is capable of a just
indignation, and that within the scope of his mental
vision are myriads of worlds yet to come. But he is said
to have no form, no voice, no odor, no color, no active
creative power, — a subtile, fundamental principle of
nature, pervading all things, influencing all things. This
belief in Brahma is so closely interwoven with all that is
best in the morals and customs of the people, that it
would seem as though Buddha himself had been careful
to leave unchallenged this one idea in the mythology of
the Hindoos. The temple includes a royal monastery,
which only the sons of kings can enter.
Opposite the Brahmanee Watt, at the distance of about
a mile, are the extensive grounds and buildings of Watt
Sail Kate, the great national burning-place of the dead.
Within these mysterious precincts the Buddhist rite of
cremation is performed, with circumstances more or less
horrible, according to the condition or the superstition of
the deceased. A broad canal surrounds the temple and
yards, and here, night and day, priests watch and pray for
the regeneration of mankind. Not alone the dead, but
the living likewise, are given to be burned in secret here ;
and into this canal, at dead of night, are flung the rash
wretches who have madly dared to oppose with speech or
act the powers that rule in Siani. None but the initiated
THE CITY OF BANGKOK. 135
will approach these grounds after sunset, so universal and
profound is the horror the place inspires, — a place the
most frightful and offensive known to mortal eyes ; for
here the vows of dead men, howsoever ghoulish and mon
strous, are consummated. „ The walls are hung with
human skeletons and the ground is strewed with human
skulls. Here also are scraped together the horrid frag
ments of those who have bequeathed their carcasses to
the hungry dogs and vultures, that hover, and prowl, and
swoop, and pounce, and snarl, and scream, and tear. The
half-picked bones are gathered and burned by the outcast
keepers of the temple (not priests), who receive from the
nearest relative of the infatuated testator a small fee for
that final service ; and so a Buddhist vow is fulfilled, and
a Buddhist " deed of merit " accomplished.
Bangkok, the modern seat of government of Siam, has
(according to the best authorities) two hundred thou
sand floating dwellings and shops, — to each house an
average of five souls, — making the population of the city
about one million ; of which number more than eighty
thousand are Chinese, twenty thousand Birmese, fifteen
thousand Arabs and Indians, and the remainder Siamese.
These figures are from the latest census, which, however,
must not be accepted as perfectly accurate.
The situation of the city is unique and picturesque.
When Ayudia was " extinguished," and the capital estab
lished at Bangkok, the houses were at first built on the
banks of the river. But so frequent were the invasions
of cholera, that one of the kings happily commanded the
people to build on the river itself, that they might have
greater cleanliness and better ventilation. The result
quickly proved the wisdom of the measure. The privi
lege of building on the banks is now confined to mem
bers of the royal family, the nobility, and residents of
acknowledged influence, political or commercial.
136 THE CITY OF BANGKOK.
At night the city is hung with thousands of covered
lights, that illuminate the wide river from shore to shore.
Lamps and lanterns of all imaginable shapes, colors, and
sizes combine to form a fairy spectacle of enchanting
brilliancy and beauty. The floating tenements and shops,
the masts of vessels, the tall, fantastic pagodas and min
arets, and, crowning all, the walls and towers of the Grand
Palace, flash with countless charming tricks of light, arid
compose a scene of more than magic novelty and beauty.
So oriental fancy and profusion deal with things of use,
and make a wonder of a commonplace.
A double, and in some parts a triple, row of floating
houses extends for miles along the banks of the river.
These are wooden structures, tastefully designed and
painted, raised on substantial rafts of bamboo linked to
gether with chains, which, in turn, are made fast to great
piles planted in the bed of the stream. The Meinam
itself forms the main avenue, and the floating shops on
either side constitute the great bazaar of the city, where
all imaginable and unimaginable articles from India,
China, Malacca, Birmah, Paris, Liverpool, and New York
are displayed in stalls.
Naturally, boats and canoes are indispensable appen
dages to such houses ; the nobility possess a fleet of them,
and to every little water-cottage a canoe is tethered, for
errands and visits. At all hours of the day and night pro
cessions of boats pass to and from the palace, and every
where bustling traders and agents ply their dingy little
craft, and proclaim their several callings in a Babel of cries.
Daily, at sunrise, a flotilla of canoes, filled with shaven
men in yellow garments, visits every house along the
banks. These are the priests gathering their various prov
ender, the free gift of every inhabitant of the city.
Twenty thousand of them are supported by the alms of
the city of Bangkok alone.
THE CITY OF BANGKOK. 137
At noon, all the clamor of the city is suddenly stilled,
and perfect silence reigns. Men, women, and children
are hushed in their afternoon nap. From the stifling
heat of a tropical midday the still cattle seek shelter
and repose under shady boughs, and even the crows cease
their obstreperous clanging. The only sound that breaks
the drowsy stillness of the hour is the rippling of the
glaring river as it ebbs or flows under the steaming
banks.
About three in the afternoon the sea-breeze sets in,
bringing refreshment to the fevered, thirsty land, and re
viving animal and vegetable life with its compassionate
breath. Then once more the floating city awakes and
stirs, and an animation rivalling that of the morning is
prolonged far into the night, — the busy, gay, delightful
night of Bangkok.
The streets are few compared with the number of
canals that intersect the city in all directions. The most
remarkable of the former is one that runs parallel with
the Grand Palace, and terminates in what is now known
as " Sanon Mai," or the New Road, which extends from
Bangkok to Paknam, about forty miles, and crosses the
canals on movable iron bridges. Almost every other
house along this road is a shop, and at the close of the
wet season Bangkok has no rival in the abundance of
vegetables and fruits with which its markets are stocked.
I could wish for a special dispensation to pass without
mention the public prisons of Bangkok, for their condi
tion and the treatment of the unhappy wretches con
fined in them are the foulest blots on the character of the
government. Some of these grated abominations are
hung like bird-cages over the water ; and those on land,
with their gangs of living corpses chained together like
wild beasts, are too horrible to be pictured here. How
European officials, representatives of Christian ideas of
138 THE CITY OF BANGKOK.
humanity and decency, can continue to countenance the
apathy or wilful brutality of the prime minister, who, as
the executive officer of the government in this depart
ment, is mainly responsible for the cruelties and outrages
I may not even name, I cannot conceive.
The American Protestant missionaries have as yet
made no remarkable impression on the religious mind of
the Siamese. Devoted, persevering, and patient laborers,
the field they have so faithfully tilled has rewarded them
with but scanty fruits. Nor will the fact, thankless
though it be, appear surprising to those whose privilege
it has been to observe the Buddhist and the Eoman
Catholic side by side in the East, and to note how, even
on the score of doctrine, they meet without a jar at many
points. The average Siamese citizen, entering a Roman
Catholic chapel in Bangkok, finds nothing there to shock
his prejudices. He is introduced to certain forms and
ceremonies, almost the counterpart of which he piously
reveres in his own temple, — genuflections, prostrations,
decorated shrines, lighted candles, smoking incense, holy
water ; while the prayers he hears are at least not less
intelligible to him than those he hears mumbled in Pali
by his own priests. He beholds familiar images too, and
pictures of a Saviour in whonrhe charitably recognizes the
stranger's Buddha. And if he happen to be a philosophic
inquirer, how surprised and pleased is he to learn that
the priests of this faith (like his own) are vowed to chas
tity, poverty, and obedience, and, like his own, devoted to
the doing of good works, penance, and alms. There are
many thousands of native converts to Catholicism in
Siam ; even the priests of Buddhism do not always turn
a deaf ear to the persuasions of teachers bound with them
in the bonds of celibacy, penance, and deeds of merit.
And those teachers are quick to meet them half-way, hap
pily recommending themselves by the alacrity with which
THE CITY OF BANGKOK. 139
they adopt, and make their own, usages which they may
with propriety practise in common, whereby the Buddhist
is nattered while the Christian is not offended. Such, for
example, is the monastic custom of the uncovered head.
As it is deemed sacrilege to touch the head of royalty, so
the head of the priest may not without dishonor pass
under anything less hallowed than the canopy of heaven ;
and in this Buddhist and Eoman Catholic accord.
The residences of the British, French, American, and
Portuguese Consuls are pleasantly situated in a bend of
the river, where a flight of wooden steps in good repair
leads directly to the houses of the officials and European
merchants of that quarter. Most influential among the
latter is the managing firm of the Borneo Company, whose
factories and warehouses for rice, sugar, and cotton are
extensive and prosperous.
The more opulent of the native merchants are grossly
addicted to gambling and opium-smoking. Though the
legal penalties prescribed for all who indulge in these
destructive vices are severe, they do not avail to deter
even respectable officers of the government from staking
heavy sums on the turn of a card ; and long before the
game is ended the opium-pipe is introduced. One of the
king's secretaries, who was a confirmed opium-smoker,
assured me he would rather die at once than be excluded
from the region of raptures his pipe opened to him.
XVI.
THE WHITE ELEPHANT.
IT is commonly supposed that the Buddhists of Siam
and Birmah regard the Chang Phoouk, or white ele
phant, as a deity, and worship it accordingly. The notion
is erroneous, especially as it relates to Siam. The Buddh
ists do not recognize God in any material form what
ever, and are shocked at the idea of adoring an ele
phant. Even Buddha, to whom they undoubtedly offer
pious homage, they do not style " God," but on the con
trary maintain that, though an emanation from a " subli
mated ethereal being," he is by no means a deity. Ac
cording to their philosophy of metempsychosis, however,
each successive Buddha, in passing through a series of
transmigrations, must necessarily have occupied in turn
the forms of white animals of a certain class, — particu
larly the swan, the stork, the white sparrow, the dove, the
monkey, and the elephant. But there is much obscurity
and diversity in the views of their ancient writers on this
subject. Only one thing is certain, that the forms of
these nobler and purer creatures are reserved for the souls
of the good and great, who find in them a kind of redemp
tion from the baser animal life. Thus almost all white
animals are held in reverence by the Siamese, because
they were once superior human beings, and the white ele
phant, in particular, is supposed to be animated by the
spirit of some king or hero. Having once been a great
man, he is thought to be familiar with the dangers that
THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 141
surround the great, and to know what is best and safest
for those whose condition in all respects was once his
own. He is hence supposed to avert national calamity,
and bring prosperity and peace to a people.
From the earliest times the kings of Siam and Birmah
have anxiously sought for the white elephant, and having
had the rare fortune to procure one, have loaded it with
gifts and dignities, as though it were a conscious favorite
of the throne. When the governor of a province of Siam
is notified of the appearance of a white elephant within
his bailiwick, he immediately commands that prayers and
offerings shall be made in all the temples, while he sends
out a formidable expedition of hunters and slaves to take
the precious beast, and bring it in in triumph. As soon
as he is informed of its capture, a special messenger is
despatched to inform the king of its sex, probable age,
size, complexion, deportment, looks, and ways ; and in the
presence of his Majesty this bearer of glorious tidings un
dergoes the painfully pleasant operation of having his
mouth, ears, and nostrils stuffed with gold. Especially is
the lucky wight — perhaps some half- wild woodsman —
who was first to spy the illustrious monster munificently
rewarded. Orders are promptly issued to the woons and
wongses of the several districts through which he must
pass to prepare to receive him royally, and a wide path is
cut for him through the forests he must traverse on his
way to the capital. Wherever he rests he is sumptu
ously entertained, and everywhere he is escorted and
served by a host of attendants, who sing, dance, play
upon instruments, and perform feats of strength or skill
for his amusement, until he reaches the banks of the
Meinam, where a great floating palace of wood, sur
mounted by a gorgeous roof and hung with crimson cur
tains, awaits him. The roof is literally thatched with
flowers ingeniously arranged so as to form symbols and
142 THE WHITE ELEPHANT.
mottoes, which the superior beast is supposed to decipher
with ease. The floor of this splendid float is laid with
gilt matting curiously woven, in the centre of which his
four-footed lordship is installed in state, surrounded "by
an obsequious and enraptured crowd of mere bipeds, who
bathe him, perfume him, fan him, feed him, sing and play
to him, flatter him. His food consists of the finest herbs,
the tenderest grass, the sweetest sugar-cane, the mellowest
plantains, the brownest cakes of wheat, served on huge
trays of gold and silver ; and his drink is perfumed with
the fragrant flower of the dok malice, the large native
jessamine.
Thus, in more than princely state, he is floated down
the river to a point within seventy miles of the capital,
where the king and his court, all the chief personages of
the kingdom, and a multitude of priests, both Buddhist
and Brahmin, accompanied by troops of players and
musicians, come out to meet him, and conduct him with
all the honors to his stable-palace. A great number of
cords and ropes of all qualities and lengths are attached
to the raft, those in the centre being of fine silk (figura
tively, " spun from a spider's web "). These are for the
king and his noble retinue, who with their own hands
make them fast to their gilded barges ; the rest are se
cured to the great fleet of lesser boats. And so, with
shouts of joy, beating of drums, blare of trumpets, boom
of cannon, a hallelujah of music, and various splendid
revelry, the great Chang Phoouk is conducted in triumph
to the capital.
Here in a pavilion, temporary but very beautiful, he
is welcomed with imposing ceremonies by the custo
dians of the palace and the principal personages of the
royal household. The king, his courtiers, and the chief
priests being gathered round him, thanksgiving is offered
up ; and then the lordly beast is knighted, after the an-
THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 143
cient manner of the Buddhists, by pouring upon his fore
head consecrated water from a chank-shell.
The titles reserved for the Chang Phoouk vary accord
ing to the purity of the complexion (for these favored crea
tures are rarely true albinos, — salmon or flesh-color being
the nearest approach to white in almost all the historic
"white elephants" of the courts of Birmah and Siam)
and the sex ; for though one naturally has recourse to the
masculine pronoun in writing of a transmigrated prince
or warrior, it often happens that prince or warrior has, in
the medlied mask of metempsychosis, assumed a female
form. Such, in fact, was the case with the stately occupant
of the stable-palace at the court of Maha Mongkut ; and
she was distinguished by the high-sounding appellation
of Miia Phya Sen Wongsah Ditsarah Krasaat, — " August
and Glorious Mother, .Descendant of Kings and Heroes."
For seven or nine days, according to certain conditions,
the Chang Phoouk is feted at the temporary pavilion, and
entertained with a variety of dramatic performances ; and
these days are observed as a general holiday throughout
the land. At the expiration of this period he is con
ducted with great pomp to his sumptuous quarters within
the precincts of the first king's palace, where he is re
ceived by his own court of officers, attendants, and slaves,
who install him in his fine lodgings, and at once proceed
to robe and decorate him. First, the court jeweller rings
his tremendous tusks with massive gold, crowns him with
a diadem of beaten gold of perfect purity, and adorns his
burly neck with heavy golden chains. Next his attend
ants robe him in a superb velvet cloak of purple, fringed
with scarlet and gold ; and then his court prostrate them
selves around him, and offer him royal homage.
When his lordship would refresh his portly person in
the bath, an officer of high rank shelters his noble head
with a great umbrella of crimson and gold, while others
144 THE WHITE ELEPHANT.
wave golden fans before him. On these occasions he is
invariably preceded by musicians, who announce his ap
proach with cheerful minstrelsy and songs.
If he falls ill, the king's own leech prescribes for him,
and the chief priests repair daily to his palace to pray for
his safe deliverance, and sprinkle him with consecrated
waters and anoint him with consecrated oils. Should he
die, all Siam is bereaved, and the nation, as one man,
goes into mourning for him. But his body is not burned ;
only his brains and heart are thought worthy of that last
and highest honor. The carcass, shrouded in fine white
linen, and laid on a bier, is carried down the river with
much wailing and many mournful dirges, to be thrown
into the Gulf of Siam.
In 1862 a magnificent white — or, rather, salmon-col
ored — elephant was "bagged," and preparations on a
gorgeous scale were made to receive him. A temporary
pavilion of extraordinary splendor sprang up, as if by
magic, before the eastern gate of the palace ; and the
whole nation was wild with joy; when suddenly came
awful tidings, — he had died !
No man dared tell the king. But the Kralahome —
that man of prompt expedients and unfailing presence of
mind — commanded that the preparations should cease
instantly, and that the building should vanish with the
builders. In the evening his Majesty came forth, as
usual, to exult in the glorious work. What was his as
tonishment to find no vestige of the splendid structure
that had been so nearly completed the night before. He
turned, bewildered, to his courtiers, to demand an explan
ation, when suddenly the terrible truth flashed into his
mind. With a cry of pain he sank down upon a stone,
and gave vent to an hysterical passion of tears ; but was
presently consoled by one of his children, who, carefully
prompted in his part, knelt before him and said : " Weep
THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 145
not, 0 my father ! The stranger lord may have left us
but for a time." The stranger lord, fatally pampered/
had succumbed to astonishment and indigestion.
A few days after this mournful event the king read to
me a curious description of the defunct monster, and
showed me parts of his skin preserved, and his tusks,
which in size and whiteness surpassed the finest I had
ever seen. " His (that is, the elephant's) eyes were light
blue, surrounded by salmon-color ; his hair fine, soft, and
white ; his complexion pinkish white ; his tusks like long
pearls ; his ears like silver shields ; his trunk like a
comet's tail ; his legs like the feet of the skies ; his tread
like ,the sound of thunder ; his looks full of meditation ;
his expression full of tenderness ; his voice the voice of
a mighty warrior ; and his bearing that of an illustrious
monarch."
That was a terrible affliction, to the people not less
than to the king.
On all occasions of state, — court receptions, for example,
- the white elephant, gorgeously arrayed, is stationed on
the right of the inner gate of the palace, and forms an in
dispensable as well as a conspicuous figure in the picture.
When the Siamese ambassadors returned from England,
the chief of the embassy — a man remarkable for his learn
ing and the purity of his character, who was also first cous
in to the Supreme King — published a quaint pamphlet,
describing England and her people, their manners and cus
toms and dwellings, with a very particular report of the
presentation of the embassy at court. Speaking of the per
sonal appearance of Queen Victoria, he says : " One can
not but be struck with the aspect of the august Queen of
England, or fail to observe that she must be of pure descent
from a race of goodly and warlike kings and rulers of the
earth, in that her eyes, complexion, and above all her bear
ing, are those of a beautiful and majestic white elephant."
7 j
XVII.
THE CEEEMONIES OF CORONATION.
ON the morning of the 3d of April, 1851, the Chowfa
Mongkut, after being formally apprised of his elec
tion by the Senabawdee to the supreme throne, was borne
in state to a residence adjoining the Phrasat, to await
the auspicious day of coronation, — the 15th of the follow
ing month, as fixed by the court astrologers ; and when it
came it was hailed by all classes of the people with im
moderate demonstrations of joy ; for to their priest king,
more sacred than a conqueror, they were drawn by bonds
of superstition as well as of pride and affection.
The ceremony of coronation is very peculiar.
In the centre of the inner Hall of Audience of the
royal palace, on a high platform richly gilded and adorned,
is placed a circular golden basin, called, in the court lan
guage, Mangold Baghavat-thong, " the Golden Circlet of
Power." Within this basin is deposited the ancient Plira-
latt, or golden stool, the whole being surmounted by a quad
rangular canopy, under a tapering, nine-storied umbrella
in the form of a pagoda, from ten to twelve feet high and
profusely gilt. ' Directly over the centre of the canopy is
deposited a vase containing consecrated waters, which
have been prayed over nine times, and poured through
nine different circular vessels in their passage to the
sacred receptacle. These waters must be drawn from the
very sources of the chief rivers of Siam ; and reservoirs
for their preservation are provided in the precincts of the
temples at Bangkok
THE CEEEMONIES OF CORONATION. 147
In the mouth of this vessel is a tube representing the
pericarp of a lotos after its petals have fallen off; and
this, called Sukla Utapala Atmano, " the White Lotos of
Life," symbolizes the beauty of pure conduct.
The king elect, arrayed in a simple white robe, takes
his seat on the golden stool. A Brahmin priest then
presents to him some water in a small cup of gold, lotos-
shaped. This water has previously been filtered through
nine different forms of matter, commencing with earth,
then ashes, wheaten flour, rice flour, powdered lotos and
jessamine, dust of iron, gold, and charcoal, and finally
flame ; each a symbol, not merely of the indestructibility
of the element, but also of its presence in all animate or
inanimate matter. Into this water the king elect dips his
right hand, and passes it over his head. Immediately the
choir join in an inspiring chant, the signal for the invert
ing, by means of a pulley, of the vessel over the canopy ;
and the consecrated waters descend through another lotos
flower, in a lively shower, on the head of the king. This
shower represents celestial blessings.
• A Buddhist priest then advances and pours a goblet of
water over the royal person. He is imitated, jfirst by the
Brahmin priests, next by the princes and princesses royal,
The vessels used for this purpose are of the chank or
conch shell, richly ornamented. Then come the nobles
of highest rank, bearing cups of gold, silver, earthen- ware,
pinchbeck, samil, and tankwah (metallic compositions pe
culiar to Siam). The materials of which, the vessels for
this royal bath are composed must be of not less than
seven kinds. Last of all, the prime minister of the realm
advances with a cup of iron; and the sacred bath is
finished.
Now the king descends into the golden basin, " Man-
gala Baghavat-thong," where he is anointed with nine va
rieties of perfumed oil, and dipped in fine dust brought
148 THE CEREMONIES OF CORONATION.
from the bed of the Ganges. He is then arrayed in regal
robes.
On the throne, which is in the south end of the hall,
and octagonal, having eight seats corresponding to eight
points of the compass, the king first seats himself facing
the north, and so on, moving eastward, facing each point
in its order. On the top step of each seat crouch two
priests, Buddhist and Brahmin, who present to him an
other bowl of water, which he drinks and sprinkles on
his face, each time repeating, by responses with the
priests, the following prayer : —
Priests. Be thou learned in the laws of nature and of
the universe.
King. Inspire me, O Thou who wert a Law unto thy
self !
P. Be thou endowed with all wisdom, and all acts of
industry !
K. Inspire me with all knowledge, 0 Thou the En
lightened !
P. Let Mercy and Truth be thy right and left arms of
life!
K. Inspire me, 0 Thou who hast proved all Truth and
all Mercy !
P. Let the Sun, Moon, and Stars bless thee !
K. All praise to Thee, through whom all forms are con
quered !
P. Let the earth, air, and waters bless thee !
K. Through the merit of Thee, 0 thou conqueror of
Death ! *
These prayers ended, the priests conduct the king to
another throne, facing the east, and still more magnificent.
Here the insignia of his sovereignty are presented to
* For these translations I am indebted to his Majesty, Maha Mongkut ;
as well as for the interpretation of the several symbols used in this and
other solemn rites of the Buddhists.
THE CEREMONIES OF CORONATION. 149
him, — first the sword, then the sceptre ; two massive
chains are suspended from his neck ; and lastly the crown
is set upon his head, when instantly he is saluted by roaT
of cannon without and music within.
Then he is presented with the golden slippers, the
fan, and the umbrella of royalty, rings set with huge dia
monds for each of his forefingers, and the various Siamese
1 weapons of war : these he merely accepts, and returns to
his attendants.
The ceremony concludes with an address from the
priests, exhorting him to be pure in his sovereign and
sacred office ; and a reply from himself, wherein he sol
emnly vows to be a just, upright, and faithful ruler of his
people. Last of all, a golden tray is handed to him, from
which, as he descends from the throne, he scatters gold
and silver flowers among the audience.
The following day is devoted to a more public enthrone
ment. His Majesty, attired more sumptuously than be
fore, is presented to all his court, and to a more general
audience. After the customary salutations by prostra
tion and salutes of cannon and music, the premier and
other principal ministers read short addresses, in deliver
ing over to the king the control of their respective depart
ments. His Majesty replies briefly ; there is a general
salute from all forts, war vessels, and merchant shipping ;
and the remainder of the day is devoted to feasting and
various enjoyment.
Immediately after the crowning of Maha Mongkut, his
Majesty repaired to the palace of the Second King, where
the ceremony of subordinate coronation differed from that
just described only in the circumstance that the conse
crated waters were poured over the person of the Second
King, and the insignia presented to him, by the supreme
sovereign.
Five days later a public procession made the circuit of
150 THE CEREMONIES OF CORONATION.
the palace and city walls in a peculiar circumambulatory
march of mystic significance, with feasting, dramatic en
tertainments, and fireworks. The concourse assembled to
take part in those brilliant demonstrations has never since
been equalled in any public display in Siam.
XVIII.
THE QUEEN CONSOKT.
"T~YT~HEN" a king of Siam would take unto himself a
VV wife, he chooses a maiden from a family of the
highest rank, and of royal pedigree, and, inviting her into
the guarded circle of his women, entertains her there in
that peculiar state of probation which is his prerogative
and her opportunity. Should she prove so fortunate as
to engage his preference, it may be his pleasure to exalt
her to the throne ; in which event he appoints a day for
the formal consummation of his gracious purpose, when the
principal officers, male and female, of the court, with the
priests, Brahmin as well as Buddhist, and the royal astrol
ogers, attend to play their several parts in the important
drama.
The princess, robed in pure white, is seated on a throne
elevated on a high platform. Over this throne is spread
a canopy of white muslin, decorated with white and
fragrant flowers, and through this canopy are gently
showered the typical waters of consecration, in which have
been previously infused certain leaves and shrubs emble
matic of purity, usefulness, and sweetness. While the
princess is thus delicately sprinkled with compliments,
the priests enumerate, with nice discrimination, the various
graces of mind and person which henceforth she must
study to acquire ; and pray that she may prove a bless
ing to her lord, and herself be richly blessed. Then she
is hailed queen, with a burst of exultant music.
152 THE QUEEN CONSORT.
Now the sisters of the king conduct her by a screened
passage to a chamber regally appointed, where she is
divested of her dripping apparel, and arrayed in robes
becoming her queenly state, — robes of silk, heavy with
gold, and sparkling with diamonds and rubies. Then the
king is ushered into her presence by the ladies of the
court ; and at the moment of his entrance she rises to
throw herself at his feet, according to the universal cus
tom. But he prevents her; and taking her right hand,
and embracing her, seats her beside him, on his right.
There she receives the formal congratulations of the court,
with which the ceremonies of the day terminate. The
evening is devoted to feasting and merriment.
A Siamese king may have two queens at the same
time ; in which case the more favored lady is styled the
" right hand," and the other the " left hand," of the throne.
His late Majesty, Maha Mongkut, had two queens, but
not " in conjunction." The first was of the right hand ;
the second, though chosen in the lifetime of the first, was
not elevated to the throne until after the death of her
predecessor.
When the bride is a foreign princess, the ceremonies
are more public, being conducted in the Hall of Audience,
instead of the Ladies' Temple, or private chapel.
The royal nuptial couch is consecrated with peculiar
forms. The mystic thread of unspun cotton is wound
around the bed seventy-seven times, and the ends held in
the hands of priests, who, bowing over the sacred symbol,
invoke blessings on the bridal pair. Then the nearest
relatives of the bride are admitted, accompanied by a
couple who, to use the obstetrical figure of the indispensa
ble Mrs. Gamp, have their parental quiver " full of sich."
These salute the bed, sprinkle it with the consecrated
waters, festoon the crimson curtains with flowery gar
lands, and prepare the silken sheets, the pillows and cush-
THE QUEEN CONSORT. 153
ions ; which done, they lead in the bride, who has not
presided at the entertainments, but waited with her ladies
in a screened apartment.
On entering the awful chamber, she first falls on her
knees, and thrice salutes the royal couch with folded
hands, and then invokes protection for herself, that she
may be preserved from every deadly sin. Finally, she is
disrobed, and left praying on the floor before the bed,
while the king is conducted to her by his courtiers, who
immediately retire.
The same ceremony is observed in nearly all Siamese
families of respectability, with, of course, certain omis
sions and variations adapted to the rank of the parties.
After three days the bride visits her parents, bear
ing presents to them from the various members of her
husband's family. Then she visits the parents of her
husband, who greet her with costly gifts. In her next
excursion of this kind her husband (unless a king) accom
panies her, and valuable presents are mutually bestowed.
A large sum of money, with jewels and other finery, is
deposited with the father and mother of the bride. This
is denominated Zoon, and at the birth of her first child
it is restored to the young mother by the grandparents.
The king visits his youthful queen just one month
after the birth of a prince or princess. She presents the
babe to him, and he, in turn, places a costly ring on the
third finger of her left hand. In like manner, most of
the relatives, of both families, bring to the babe gifts of
money, jewels, gold and silver ornaments, etc., which is
termed Tain Kwaan. Even so early the infant's hair is
shaved off, except the top-knot, which is permitted to
grow until the child has arrived at the age of puberty.
7*
XIX.
THE HEIE-APPAEENT.— EOYAL HAIE-CUTTING.
THE Prince Somdetch Chowfa Chulalonkorn* was
about ten years old when I was appointed to teach
him. Being the eldest son of the queen consort, he held
the first rank among the children of the king, as heir-
apparent to the throne. For a Siamese, he was a hand
some lad ; of stature neither noticeably tall nor short ;
figure symmetrical and compact, and dark complexion.
He was, moreover, modest and affectionate, eager to learn,
and easy to influence.
His mother dying when he was about nine years old,
he, with his younger brothers, the Princes Chowfa Cha-
turont Easmi and Chowfa Bhangurangsi Swang Wongse,
and their lovely young sister, the Princess Somdetch
Chowfa Chandrmondol (" Fa-ying "), were left to the care
of a grand-aunt, Somdetch Ying Noie, a princess by the
father's side. This was a tranquil, cheerful old soul, at
tracted toward everything that was bright and pretty, and
ever busy among flowers, poetry, and those darlings of
her loving life, her niece's children. Of these the little
Fa-ying (whose sudden death by cholera I have described)
was her favorite ; and after her death the faithful creature
turned her dimmed eyes and chastened pride to the
young prince Chulalonkorn. Many an earnest talk had
the venerable duchess and I, in which she did not hesi
tate to implore me to instil into the minds of her youth-
* The present Supreme King.
THE HEIR-APPARKNT.
THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING. 155
ful wards — and especially this king that was to be —
the purest principles of Christian faith and precept. Yet
with all the freshness of the religious habit of her child
hood she was most scrupulous in her attendance and de
votions at the temple. Her grief for the death of her
darling was deep and lasting, and by the simple force of
her love she exerted a potent influence over the mind of
the royal lad.
A very stern thing is life to the children of royalty in
Siam. To watch and be silent, when it has most need
of confidence and freedom, — a horrible necessity for a
child ! The very babe in the cradle is taught mysterious
and terrible things by the mother that bore it, — in
fantile experiences of distrust and terror, out of which a
few come up noble, the many infamous. Here are baby
heroes and heroines who do great deeds before our hap
pier Western children have begun to think. There were
actual, though unnoticed and unconscious, intrepidity and
fortitude in the manoeuvres and the stands with which
those little ones, on their own ground, flanked or checked
that fatal enemy, their father. Angelic indeed were the
spiritual triumphs that no eye noted, nor any smile re
warded, save the anxious eye and the prayerful smile of
that sleepless maternity that misery had bound with
them. But even misery becomes tolerable by first be
coming familiar, and out of the depths these royal chil
dren laughed and prattled and frolicked and were glad.
As for the old duchess, she loved too well and too wisely
not to be timid and troubled all her life long, first for the
mother, then for the children.
Such was the early training of the young prince, and
for a time it availed to direct his thoughts to noble as
pirations. From his studies, both in English and Pali, he
derived an exalted ideal of life, and precocious and in
expressible yearnings. Once he said to me he envied the
156 THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING.
death of the venerable priest, his uncle ; he would rather
be poor, he said, and have to earn his living, than be a
king.
" T is true, a poor man must work hard for his daily
bread ; but then he is free. And his food is all he has
to lose or win. He can possess all things in possessing
Him who pervades all things, — earth, and sky, and stars,
and flowers, and children. I can understand that I am
great in that I am a part of the Infinite, and in that
alone ; and that all I see is mine, and I am in it and of
it. How much of content and happiness should I not
gain if I could but be a poor boy ! "
He was attentive to his studies, serene, and gentle,
invariably affectionate to his old aunt and his younger
brothers, and for the poor ever sympathetic, with a warm,
generous heart. He pursued his studies assiduously, and
seemed to overcome the difficulties and obstacles he en
countered in the course of them with a resolution that
gained strength as his mind gained ideas. As often as
he effectually accomplished something, he indulged in
ecstasies of rejoicing over the new thought, that was an
inspiring discovery to him of his actual poverty of knowl
edge, his possibilities of intellectual opulence. But it
was clear to me — and I saw it with sorrow — that for
his ardent nature this was but a transitory condition, and
that soon the shock must come, against the inevitable
destiny in store for him, that would either confirm or
crush all that seemed so fair in the promise of the royal
boy.
When the time came for the ceremony of hair-cutting,
customary for young Siamese princes, the lad was grad
ually withdrawn, more and more, from my influence.
The king had determined to celebrate the heir's majority
with displays of unusual magnificence. To this end he
explored the annals and records of Siam and Cambodia,
THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING. 157
and compiled from them a detailed description of a very
curious procession that attended a certain prince of Siam
centuries ago, on the occasion of his hair-cutting ; and
forthwith projected a similar show for his son, but on a
more elaborate and costly scale. The programme, in
cluding the procession, provided for the representation of
a sort of drama, borrowed partly from the Eamayana, and
partly from the ancient observances of the kings of Cam
bodia,
The whole royal establishment was set in motion.
About nine thousand young women, among them the
most beautiful of the concubines, were cast for parts in the
mammoth play. Boys and girls were invited or hired
from all quarters of the kingdom to " assist " in the per
formance. Every nation under the sun was represented
in the grand procession. In our school the regular studies
were abandoned, and in their place we had rehearsals of
singing, dancing, recitation, and pantomime.
An artificial hill, of great height, called Khoa-Kra-Laat,
was raised in the centre of the palace gardens. On its
summit was erected a golden temple or pagoda of exquis
ite beauty, richly hung with tapestries, displaying on the
east the rising sun, on the west a moon of silver. The
cardinal points of the hill were guarded by the white
elephant, the sacred ox, the horse, and the lion. These
figures were so contrived that they could be brought close
together and turned on a pivot; and thus the sacred
waters, brought for that purpose from the Brahmapootra,
were to be showered on the prince, after the solemn hair-
cutting, and received in a noble basin of marble.
The name given to the ceremony of hair-cutting va
ries according to the rank of the child. For commoners
it is called " Khone Chook " ; for the nobility and roy
alty, "Soh-Khan," probably from the Sanskrit Soli
Sdhtha Kam, " finding safe and sound." The custom is
158 THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING.
said to be extremely ancient, and to have originated with
a certain Brahmin, whose only child, being sick unto
death, was given over by the physicians as in the power
of evil spirits. In his heart's trouble the father consulted
a holy man, who had been among the earliest converts to
Buddhism, if aught might yet be done to save his darling
from torment and perdition. The venerable saint di
rected him to pray, and to have prayers offered, for the lad,
and to cause that part of his hair which had never been
touched with razor or shears since his birth to be shaved
quite off. The result was a joyful rescue for the child ;
others pursued the same treatment in like cases with
the same effect, and hence the custom of hair-cutting.
The children of princes are forbidden to have the top
knot cut at all, until the time when they are about to
pass into manhood or womanhood. Then valuable pres
ents are made to them by all who are related to their
families by blood, marriage, or friendship.
When all the preparations necessary to the successful
presentation of the dramatic entertainment were com
pleted, the king, having taken counsel of his astrologers,
sent heralds to the governors of all the provinces of Siam,
to notify those dignitaries of the time appointed for the
jubilee, and request their presence and co-operation. A
similar summons was sent to all the priests of the king
dom, who, in bands or companies, were to serve alter
nately, on the several days of the festival.
Early in the forenoon of the auspicious day the prince
was borne in state, in a gorgeous chair of gold, to the Maha
Phrasat, the order of the procession being as follows : —
First came the bearers of the gold umbrellas, fans, and
great golden sunshades.
Next, twelve gentlemen, superbly attired, selected from
the first rank of the nobility, six on either side of the
golden chair, as a body-guard to the prince.
THE HEIR-APPAKENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING. 159
Then, four hundred Amazons arrayed in green and
gold, and gleaming armor.
These were followed by twelve maidens, attired in cloth
of gold, with fantastic head-gear adorned with precious
stones, who danced before the prince to the gentle monot
onous movement of the bandos. In the centre of this
group moved three lovely girls, of whom one held a
superb peacock's tail, and the two others branches of gold
and silver, sparkling with leaves and rare flowers. These
damsels were guarded by two duennas on either side.
After these stalked a stately body of Brahmins, bearing
golden vases filled with Klioa tok, or roasted rice, which
they scattered on either side, as an emblem of plenty.
Another troop of Brahmins with bandos, which they
rattled as they moved along.
Two young nobles, splendidly robed, who also bore gold
vases, lotos-shaped, in which nestled the bird of paradise
called Nok Kurraweek, the sweetness of whose song is
supposed to entrance even beasts of prey.
A troop of lads, the rising nobility of Siam, fairly
covered with gold collars and necklaces.
The king's Japanese body-guard.
Another line of boys, representing natives of Hindostan
in costume.
Malayan lads in costume.
Chinese lads in costume.
Siamese boys in English costume.
The king's infantry, headed by pioneers, in European
costume.
Outside of this line marched about five thousand men
in long rose-colored robes, with tall tapering caps. These
represented guardian-angels attending on the different
nations.
Then came bands of musicians dressed in scarlet, imi
tating the cries of birds, the sound of falling fruit, and
160 THE HEIR-APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING.
the murmur of distant waters, in the imaginary forest
they were supposed to traverse on their way to the Sacred
Mount.
The order of the procession behind the golden sedan
in which the prince was borne, was nearly as follows : —
Next after the chair of state came four young damsels
of the highest rank, bearing the prince's betel-box, spit
toon, fan, and swords. Then followed seventy other
maidens, carrying reverently in both hands the vessels of
pure gold, and all the insignia of rank and office proper
to a prince of the blood royal ; and yet more, holding
over their right shoulders golden fans.
In the train of these tripped troops of children, daugh
ters of the nobility, dressed and decorated with "fantastic
splendor.
Then the maids of honor, personal attendants, and
concubines of the king, chastely dressed, though crowned
with gold, and decorated with massive gold chains and
rings of great price and beauty.
A crowd of Siamese women, painted and rouged, in
European costume.
Troops of children in corresponding attire.
Ladies in Chinese costume.
Japanese ladies in rich robes.
Malay women in their national dress.
Women of Hindostan.
Then the Kariens.
And, last of all, the female slaves and dependants of
the prince.
At the foot of the hill a most extraordinary spectacle
was presented.
On the east appeared a number of hideous monsters,
riding on gigantic eagles. These nondescripts, whose
heads reached almost to their knees, and whose hands
grasped indescribable weapons, are called Yaks. They
THE HEIR-APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING. 161
are appointed to guard the Sacred Mount from all vulgar
approach.
A little farther on, around a pair of stuffed peacocks,
were a number of youthful warriors, representing kings,
governors, and chiefs of the several dependencies of Siam.
Desirous of witnessing the sublime ceremony of hair-
cutting, they cautiously approach the Yaks, performing a
sort of war dance, and chanting in chorus : —
Orali Pho, diet pai Kra Lddt.
" Let us go to the Sacred Mount ! "
Whereupon the Yaks, or evil angels, point their won
derful weapons at them, chanting in the same strain : —
Orali Pho, salope thdng pooany.
" Let us slay them all ! "
They then make a show of striking and thrusting, and
princes, rajahs, and governors drop as if wounded.
The principal parts in the drama were assumed by his
Majesty, and their excellencies the Prime Minister and
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The king was dressed
for the character of P'hra Inn Suen, the Hindoo Indra, or
Lord of the Sky, who has also the attributes of the
Koman Genius ; but most of his epithets in Sanskrit are
identical with those of the Olympian Jove. He was
attended by the Prime Minister, personating the Sanskrit
Sache, but called in Siamese " Vis Summo Kam," and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs as his charioteer, Ma Talee.
His imperial elephant, called Aisarat, caparisoned in
velvet and gold, and bearing the supernatural weapons,
— Vagra, the thunderbolts, — was led by allegorical per
sonages, representing winds and showers, lightning and
thunder. The hill, Khoa Kra Laat, is the Sanskrit Meru,
described as a mountain of gold and gems.
His Majesty received the prince from the hands of his
nobles, set him on his right hand, and presented him to
the people, who offered homage. Afterward, two ladies
162 THE IIEIR-APPAREXT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING.
of the court led him down the flight of marble steps,
where two maidens washed his feet with pure water in a
gold basin, and wiped them with fine linen.
On his way to the Maha Phrasat he was met by a
group of girls in charming attire, who held before him
tufts of palm and branches of gold and silver. Thus he
was conducted to an inner chamber of the temple, and
seated on a costly carpet heavily fringed with gold, before
an altar on which were lighted tapers and offerings of all
descriptions. In his hand was placed a strip of palmyra
leaf, on which were inscribed these mystic words : " Even
I was, even from the first, and not any other thing : that
which existed unperceived, supreme. Afterwards, I am
that which is, and He that was, and He who must
remain am I."
" Know that except Me, who am the First Cause, noth
ing that appears or does not appear in the mind can be
trusted ; it is the mind's Maya or delusion, — as Light is
to Darkness."
On the reverse was inscribed this sentence : —
"Keep me still meditating on Thy infinite greatness
and my own nothingness, so that all the questions of my
life may be answered and my mind abundantly instructed
in the path of Mphan ! "
In his hands was placed a ball of unspun thread, the
ends of which were carried round the sacred hill, and
thence round the temple, and into the inner chamber,
where it was bound round the head of the young prince.
Thence again nine threads were taken, which, after encir
cling the altar, were passed into the hands of the officiat
ing priests. These latter threads, forming circles within
circles, symbolize the mystic word Om, which may not
escape the lips even of the purest, but must be medi
tated upon in silence.
Early on the third day all the princes, nobles, and
THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING. 163
officers of government, together with the third company
of priests, assembled to witness the ceremony of shaving
the royal top-knot. The royal sire handed first the
golden shears and then a gilded razor to the happy
hair-cutter, who immediately addressed himself to his
honorable function. Meanwhile the musicians, with the
trumpeters and conch-blowers, exerted all their noisy
faculties to beguile the patient heir.
The tonsorial operation concluded, the prince was robed
in white, and conducted to the marble basin at the foot of
the Sacred Mount, where the white elephant, the ox, the
horse, and the lion, guarding the cardinal points, were
brought together, and from their mouths baptized him in
the sacred waters. He was then arrayed in silk, still
white, by women of rank, and escorted to a golden pagoda
on the summit of the hill, where the king, in the charac
ter of Fhra Inn Suen, waited to bestow his blessing on
the heir. With one hand raised to heaven, and the other
on the bowed head of his son, he solemnly uttered words
of Pali, which may be translated thus : —
"Thou who art come out of the pure waters, be thy
offences washed away ! Be thou relieved from other births !
Bear thou in thy bosom the brightness of that light which
shall lead thee, even as it led the sublime Buddha, to
Niphan, at once and forever ! "
These rites ended, the priests were served with a prince
ly banquet ; and then the nobility and common people
were also feasted. About midday, two standards, called
baisec, were set up within a circle of people. These are
not unlike the sawekra chat, or royal umbrella, one of the
five insignia of royalty in Siam. They are about five
cubits high, and have from three to five canopies. The
staff is fixed in a wooden pedestal. Each circle or can
opy has a flat bottom, and within the receptacle thus
formed custom requires that a little cooked rice, called
164 THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING.
k'ow k'wan, shall be placed, together with a few cakes, a
little sweet-scented oil, a handful of fragrant flour, and
some young cocoanuts and plantains. Other edibles of
many kinds are brought and arranged about the baisee,
and a beautiful bouquet adorns the top of each of the
umbrella-like canopies.
Then a procession was formed, of princes, noblemen,
and others, who marched around the standards nine times.
As they went, seven golden candlesticks, with the candles
lighted, were carried by princes, and passed from one to
another ; and as often as they came in front of the prince,
who sat between the standards, they waved the light be
fore him. This procession is but another form of the
Om symbol.
Afterwards the eldest priest or brahmin took a portion
of the rice from the baisee, and, sprinkling it with cocoa-
nut water, gave the lad a spoonful of it. Then dipping
his finger, first in the scented oil and then in the fragrant
flour, he touched the right foot of the prince, at the same
time exhorting him to be manly and strong, and to bear
himself bravely in " the conflict of feeling."
Now presents of silver and gold were laid at the feet
of the lad, — every prince not of the royal family, and
every nobleman and high officer in the kingdom, being-
expected to appear with gifts. A chowfa might receive,
in the aggregate, from five hundred thousand to a million
ticals.* It should be remarked in this connection, that
the late king commanded that careful note be kept of all
sums of money presented by officers of his government to
his children at the time of Soh-Khan, that the full amount
might be refunded with the next semi-annual payment of
salary. But this decree does not relieve the more distin
guished princes and endowed noblemen, who have acquired
* A tical is equivalent to sixty cents.
THE HEIR-APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING. 165
a sort of complimentary relationship to his Majesty through
their daughters and nieces accepted as concubines.
The children of plain citizens, who cannot afford the
luxury of a public hair-cutting, are taken to a temple,
where a priest shaves the tuft, with a brief religious cere
mony.
Hardly had the prince recovered his wonted frame of
mind, after an event so pregnant with significance and
agitation to him, when the time arrived for his induction
into the priesthood. For this the rites, though simpler,
were more solemn. The hair, which had been suffered to
grow on the top of his young pate like an inverted brush,
was now shorn close, and his eyebrows were shaven also.
Arrayed in costly robes and ornaments, similar to those
worn at a coronation, he was taken in charge by a body of
priests at his father's palace, and by them conducted to the
temple Watt P'hra Ke'au, his yellow-robed and barefooted
escort chanting, on the way, hymns from the Buddhist
liturgy. At the threshold of the temple another band
of priests divested him of his fine robes and clad him in
simple white, all the while still chanting. The circle be
ing characteristic of a Buddhist ceremonial, as the cross is
of their religious architecture, these priests formed a circle,
standing, and holding lighted tapers in their folded palms,
the high-priest in the centre. Then the prince advanced
meekly, timidly, bowing low, to enter the holy ring. Here
he wras received by the high-priest, and with their hands
mutually interfolded, one upon the other, lie vowed to re
nounce, then and there, the world with all its cares and
temptations, and to observe with obedience the doctrines
of Buddha. This done, he was clad afresh in sackcloth,
and led from the temple to the royal monastery, Watt
Brahmanee Waid ; with bare feet and eyes downcast he
went, still chanting those weird hymns.
Here he remained recluse for six months. When he
166 THE HEIR- APPARENT. — ROYAL HAIR-CUTTING.
returned to the world, and to the residence assigned him,
he seemed no longer the impressible, ardent boy who was
once my bright, ambitious scholar. Though still anxious
to prosecute his English studies, he was pronounced too
old to unite with his brothers and sisters in the school.
For a year I taught him, from seven to ten in the even
ing, at his " Hose-planting House " ; and even from this
distant place and time I look back with comfort to those
hours.
XX.
AMUSEMENTS OF THE COUKT.
OF all the diversions of the court the most polite,
and at the same time the most engrossing, is the
drama.
In a great sala, or hall, which serves as a theatre, the
actors and actresses assemble, their faces and bodies
anointed with a creamy, maize-colored cosmetic. Fan
tastic extravagance of attire constitutes the great gun in
their arsenal of attractions. Hence ear-rings, bracelets,
massive chains and collars, tapering crowns with wings,
spangled robes, curious finger-rings, and, strangest of all,
long tapering nails of gold, are joined to complete their
elaborate adornment. The play, in which are invariably
enacted the adventures of gods, kings, heroes, genii,
demons, and a multitude of characters mythical and
fabulous, is often performed in lively pantomime, the
interludes being filled by a strong chorus, with songs
and instrumental accompaniment. At other times the
players, in grotesque masks, give burlesque versions of
the graver epics, to the great amusement of the audience.
Chinese comedies, termed Ngiu, attract the Siamese in
crowds ; but the foreign is decidedly inferior to the native
talent. " Nang," so called, is a sort of tableau, masked,
representing characters from the Hindoo mythology.
Parts of the popular epic, Eamayana, are admirably ren
dered in this style. In front of the royal palace an im
mense transparent screen, mounted on great poles, is
168 AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT.
drawn across the esplanade, and behind this, at a moder
ate distance, great tires are lighted. Between the screen
and the tire masked figures, grotesquely costumed, en
act the story of llama and Sita and the giant Rawuna,
with Hanuinan and his army of apes bridging the Gulf
of Manaar and piling up the Himalayas, while the bards,
in measured story, describe the several exploits.
A great variety of puppet-shows are contrived for the
delectation of the children ; and the Siamese are marvel
lously ingenious in the manufacture of toys and dolls, of
porcelain, stone, wood, bark, and paper. They make pa
godas, temples, boats, and floating houses, with miniature
families to occupy them, and all true to the life in every
apartment and occupation ; watts, with idols and priests ;
palaces, with kings, queens, concubines, royal children,
courtiers, and slaves, all complete in costume and attitude.
The royal children observe with grave formalities the
eventful custom of " hair-cutting " for their favorite dolls ;
and dramas, improvised for the occasion by ingenious
slaves, are the crowning glory of those high holidays of
toddling princes and princesses.
The ladies of the harem amuse themselves in the early
and late hours of the day by gathering flowers in the
palace gardens, feeding the birds in the aviaries and the
gold-fishes in the ponds, twining garlands to adorn the
heads of their children, arranging bouquets, singing songs
of love or glory, dancing to the music of the guitar, listen
ing to their slaves' reading, strolling with their little ones
through the parks and parterres, and especially in bathing.
"When the heat is least oppressive they plunge into the
waters of the pretty retired lakes, swimming and diving
like flocks of brown water-fowl.
Chess and backgammon, Chinese cards and dice, afford
a continual diversion to both sexes at the court, and
there are many skilful players among them.
AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT. 169
The Chinese have established a sort of "lottery," of
which they have the monopoly. It is little better than a
" sweat-cloth/' with thirteen figures, on which money is
staked at the option of the gambler. The winning figure
pays its stake thirty-fold, the rest is lost.
Kite-flying, which in Europe and America is the amuse
ment of children exclusively, is here, as in China and
Birmah, the pastime of both sexes, and all ages and con
ditions of people. At the season when the south-wind
prevails steadily, innumerable kites of diverse forms,
many of them representing gigantic butterflies, may be
seen sailing and darting over every quarter of the city,
and most thickly over the palace and its appendages.
Parties of young noblemen devote themselves with ardor
to the sport, betting bravely on results of skill or luck ;
and it is most entertaining to observe how cleverly they
manage the huge paper toys, entangling and capturing
each other's kites, and dragging them disabled to the
earth.
Combats of bulls and elephants, though very popular,
are not commonly exhibited at court. At certain seasons
fairs are held, where exhibitions of wrestling, boxing,
fencing, and dancing are given by professional competi
tors.
The Siamese, naturally imaginative and gay, cultivate
music with great zest. Every village has its orchestra,
every prince and noble his band of musicians, and in
every part of Bangkok the sound of strange instruments
is heard continually. Their music is not in parts like ours,
but there is always harmony with good expression, and an
agreeable variety of movement and volume is derived
from the diversity of instruments and the taste of the
players.
The principal instrument, the khong-vong, is composed
of a series of hemispherical metallic bells or cups in-
8
170 AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT.
verted and suspended by cords to a wooden frame. The
performer strikes the bells with two little hammers cov
ered with soft leather, producing an agreeable harmony.
The hautboy player (who is usually a professional jug
gler and snake-charmer also) commonly leads the band.
Kneeling and swaying his body forward and backward,
and from side to side, he keeps time to the movement of
the music. His instrument has six holes, but no keys,
and may be either rough or smoothly finished.
The ranat, or harmonicon, is a wooden instrument, with
keys made of wood from the bashoo-nut tree. These,
varying in size from six inches by one to fifteen by two,
are connected by pieces of twine, and so fastened to a
hollow case of wood about three feet in length and a foot
high. The music is "conjured" by the aid of two small
hammers corked with leather, like those of the khong-
vong. The notes are clear and fine, and the instrument
admits of much delicacy of touch.
Beside these the Siamese have the guitar, the violin,
the flute, the cymbals, the trumpet, and the conch-shell.
There is the luptima also, another very curious instru
ment, formed of a dozen long perforated reeds joined
with bands and cemented at the joints with wax. The
orifice at one end is applied to the lips, and a very mod
erate degree of skill produces notes so strong and sweet
as to remind one of the swell of a church organ.
The Laos people have organs and tambourines of dif
ferent forms ; their guitar is almost as agreeable as that of
Europe ; and of their flutes of several kinds, one is played
with the nostril instead of the lips.
Another instrument, resembling the banjo of the
American negroes, is made from a large long-necked
gourd, cut in halves while green, cleaned, dried in the sun,
covered with parchment, and strung with from four to
six strings. Its notes are pleasing.
AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT. 171
The taklie, a long guitar with metallic strings, is laid
on the floor, and high-born ladies, with fingers armed with
shields or nails of gold, draw from it the softest and
sweetest sounds.
In their funeral ceremonies the chanting of the priests
is usually accompanied by the lugubrious wailing music
of a sort of clarionet.
The songs of Siam are either heroic or amatory; the
former celebrating the martial exploits, the latter the
more tender adventures, of heroes.
Athletic games and the contests of the arena and the
course form so conspicuous a feature in all ceremonies,
solemn or festal, of this people, that a description of them
may not with advantage be wholly omitted here. The
Siamese are by nature warlike, and their government has
thoughtfully and liberally fostered those manly sports
and exercises which constitute the natural preparation for
the profession of arms. Of these the most popular are
wrestling, boxing (in which both sexes take part), throw
ing the discus or quoit, foot-shuttlecock, and racing on
foot or horseback or in chariots ; to which may be added
vaulting and tumbling, throwing the dart, and leaping
through wheels or circles of fire.
The professional athletes and gymnasts are exercised at
a tender age under male or female trainers, who employ
the most approved methods of limbering and quickening
and strengthening and toughening their incipient cham
pions, to whom, though well fed, sleep is jealously al
lowanced and intoxicating drinks absolutely forbidden.
Their bodies are rubbed with oils and unguents to render
them supple ; and a short langoutee with a belt forms the
sum of their clothing. None but the children of Siamese
or Laotians are admitted to the gymnasia. The code of
laws for the government of the several classes is strictly
172 AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT.
enforced, and nothing is permitted contrary to the estab
lished order and regulations of the games. Excessive
violence is mercifully forbidden, and those who enter to
wrestle or box, race or leap, for the prize, draw lots for
precedence and position.
The Siamese practise wrestling in its rude simplicity,
the advantage being with weight and strength, rather
than skill and address. The wrestlers, before engaging, are
rubbed and shampooed, the joints bent backward and all
the muscles relaxed, and the body and limbs freely oiled ;
but after the latter operation they roll in the dust, or are
sprinkled with earth, ground and sifted, that they may be
grappled the more firmly. They are matched in pairs,
and several couples contend at the same time. Their
struggles afford superb displays of the anatomy of action,
and the perfection of strength and skill and fierce grace
in the trained animal. Though one be seized by the heel
and thrown, — which the Siamese applaud as the climax
of the wrestler's adroitness, — they still struggle grandly
on the ground, a double Antaeus of arms and legs, till one
be turned upon his back and slapped upon the breast.
That is the accepted signal of the victor.
In boxing, the Siamese cover their hands with a kind
of glove of ribbed leather, sometimes lined with brass.
On their heads they wear a leather turban, to protect the
temples and ears, the assault being directed mainly at
the head and face. Besides the usual "getting away"
of the British bruiser, blows are caught with surprising
address and strength in the gloved hand. The boxer
who by overreaching, or missing a blow he has put his
weight into, throws himself, is beaten ; or he may sur
render by simply lowering his arms.
The Siamese discus, or quoit, is round, and of wood,
stone, or iron. Their manner of hurling it does not dif
fer materially from that which all mighty players have
AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT. 173
practised since Caesar's soldiers pitched quoits for ra
tions.
Quite otherwise, in its curious novelty, is their spirited
and picturesque sport of foot-shuttlecock, — a game which
may be witnessed only in Asia, and in the perfection
of its skill and agility only in Birmah and Siam.
The shuttlecock is like our own, but the battledore is
the sole of the foot. A number of young men form a cir
cle on a clear plot of ground. One of them opens the
game by throwing the feathered toy to the player opposite
him, who, turning quickly and raising his leg, receives it
011 the sole of his foot, and sends it like a shot to another,
and he to another ; and so it is kept flying for an hour
or more, without once falling to the ground.
Speed, whether of two legs or four, is in high estima
tion among the Siamese. Their public festivals, however
solemn, are usually begun with races, which they culti
vate with ardor and enjoy with enthusiasm. They have
the foot-race, the horse-race, and the chariot-race. In
the first, the runners, having drawn lots for places, range
themselves across the course, and, while waiting for the
starting signal, excite themselves by leaping. At the
word " Go," they make play with astonishing speed and
spirit.
The race of a single horse, "against time," with or
without saddle, is a favorite sport. The rider, scorning
stirrup or bridle, grips the sides of his steed with his
knees, and, with his right arm and forefinger stretched
eagerly toward the goal, flies alone, — an inspiring picture.
Sometimes two horsemen ride abreast, and at full speed
change horses by vaulting from one to the other.
In the chariot-races from two to four horses are driven
abreast, and the art consists in winning and keeping the
advantage of ground without collision. This kind of
racing is not so common as the others.
174 AMUSEMENTS OF THE COURT.
The favorite pastime of the late Second King, who
greatly delighted in equestrian exercises and feats, was
Croquet on Horseback, — a sport in which he distin
guished himself by his brilliant skill and style, as he did
in racing and hunting. This unique equestrian game is
played exclusively by princes and noblemen. There are
a number of small balls which must be croqueted into
two deep holes, with the aid of long slender mallets. The
limits of the ground are marked by a line drawn around
it ; and the only conditions necessary to render the sport
exciting and the skill remarkable are narrow bounds and
restive steeds.
The Siamese, like other Orientals, ride with loose rein
and short stirrups. Their saddles are high and hard, and
have two large circular flaps, gilded and otherwise adorned,
according to the rank of the rider. Cavaliers of distinc
tion usually dress expensively, in imported stuffs, elabo
rately embroidered with silk and gold thread. They
wear a small cap, and sometimes a strip of red, like the
fillet of the Greeks and Eomans, bound round the brows.
Prizes for the victors in the games and combats are of
several kinds, — purses of gold and silver, suits of apparel,
•umbrellas, and, more rarely, a gold or silver cup.
In concluding this imperfect sketch, I feel that a word
of praise is due to the spirit of moderation and humanity
which seems to govern such exhibitions in Siam. Even
in their gravest festivals there is an element of cheerful
ness and kindness, which tends to promote genial fellow
ship and foster friendships, and by bringing together all
sorts of people, otherwise separated by diversity of cus
tom, prejudice, and interest, unquestionably avails to weld
the several small states and dependencies of Siam into
one compact and stable nation.
XXI.
SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART.
AT the head of the Siamese writers of profane his
tory stands, I think, P'hra Alack, or rather Che-
ing Meing, — P'hra Alack being the generic term for all
writers. In early life he was a priest, but was appointed
historian to the court, and in that capacity wrote a his
tory of the reign of his patron and king, P'hra Narai, —
(contemporary with Louis XIV.) — and left a very curi
ous though unfinished autobiography.
Seri Manthara, celebrated as a military leader, wrote
nine books of essays, on subjects relating to agriculture
and the arts and sciences. Some of these, translated into
the languages of Birmah and Pegu, are still extant.
Among a host of dramatic writers, Phya Doong, better
known as P'hra Khein Lakonlen, is entitled to the first
rank. He composed about forty-nine books in lyric and
dramatic verse, besides epigrams and elegies. Of his
many poems, the few that remain afford passages of much
elegance and sweetness, and even of sublimity, — almost
sufficient to atone for the taint of grossness he derived
from the licentious imagination of his land and time.
While yet hardly out of his infancy, he was laid at the
feet of the monarch, and reared in the palace at Lopha-
buree. Some dramatic pieces composed by the lad for
his playmates to act attracted the notice of the king,
who engaged teachers to instruct him thoroughly in the
ancient literature of India and Persia. But he seems to
170 SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART.
have boldly opened a way for himself, instead of follow
ing (as modern Orientals, timid or servile, are so prone to
do) the well-worn patli of the old Hindoo writers. In his
tragedy (which I saw acted) of Manda-ihi-Nung, " The
First Mother," there are passages of noble thought and
true passion, expressed with a power and beauty pecu
liarly his own.
The entertainments of the theatre are devoured by the
Siamese with insatiable appetite, and the popular pref
erence is awarded to those intellectual contests in which
the tragic and comic poets compete for the prize. The
laughter or the tears of the sympathetic groundlings are
accepted as the expression of an infallible criticism, and
by their verdict the play is crowned or damned. The
common people, such is their passion for the drama, get
whole tragedies or comedies " by heart." Every day in
the year, and in every street of Bangkok, and all along
the river, booths and floating salas may be seen, in which
tragedy, comedy, and satirical burlesques, are enacted for
the entertainment of great audiences, who are thrilled, de
lighted, or amused. In compositions strictly dramatic the
characters, as with us, speak and act for themselves ; but
in the epic the poet recites the adventures of his heroes.
Judges are appointed by the king to determine the
merits of new plays before they are performed at court ;
and on the grand occasion of the hair-cutting of the
heir-apparent (now king) his late Majesty caused the poem
" Kraelasah " to be modernized and adapted to grace the
ceremonies.
P'hra Kamawsha, a writer highly esteemed, did wonders
for the Siamese drama. He translated the Eamayana, the
Mahabharata, and portions of the Cambodian lyrics into
Siamese ; introduced masks, with magnificence of costume
and ornament ; substituted theatres, or rather salas, for
the temporary booth or the open plain ; and elevated the
SIAMESE ACTOR AND ACTRESS.
SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART. 177
matter and the style of dramatic compositions from the
burlesque and buffoonery to the sentimental and majestic.
He was also the first to impart spirit and variety to the
dialogue, and to teach actors to express like artists, and
not like mere animals, the strong human passions of an
ger, love, and pity. The plays of P'hra Eamawsha are
highly esteemed at court. In his management of amorous
incidents and intrigues, he is, if not positively refined, at
least less gross than other Siamese dramatists.
The dress of the players is always rich, and in the
fashion of that worn at court. The actors and actresses
attached to the royal establishment make a splendid dis
play in this respect, large sums being expended annually
on their costumes, jewels, and other adornings.
The development of native genius and skill, in the di
rection of the fine arts, has greatly- declined, if it has
not been absolutely arrested, since the reign of P'hra Narai,
the enlightened founder of Lophaburee ; and almost all
the vestiges of art, purely national, to be found in the
country now, may be traced to that golden age of Siam.
The Siamese, though intelligent, clever, facile, and in a
notable degree susceptible to the influences of the beau
tiful in nature or in art, by no means slow or awk
ward in imitating the graceful products of European
taste and industry, are yet fettered by a peculiar oppres
sion in their efforts to express in visible forms their
artistic inspirations. No Siamese subject is to be con
gratulated, who by his talent or his skill has won popular
applause in any branch of industry. No such man, having
extraordinary cleverness or taste, dare display it to the
public in works of novel utility or beauty ; because he
and his inventions may alike be appropriated, without re
ward or thanks, — the former to serve the king, the latter
to adorn the palace. Many ply in secret their danger-
8* L
178 SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART.
ously graceful callings, and destroy their work when it is
done, rather than see it wrested from them, and with it
all that is left to them of freedom, to serve the whim of a
covetous and cruel master. All that P'lira Narai did to
foster the sciences and arts in his land has been undone
by the ruinous selfishness of his successors ; and of the
few suicides recorded in the annals of Siam since his
time, one of the most remarkable is that of a famous
painter, who poisoned himself the day after his installa
tion at court. Thus all natural ambition has been stu
pidly extinguished in the breasts of the artists of a land
whose remaining monuments attest her ancient excel
lence in architecture, sculpture, and painting.
The most remarkable examples of Siamese painting are
presented in the cartoons to be found on the walls of the
ancient temples, decorated with the brush before the
introduction of wall-paper from Birmah. One that is
still to be seen in the Watt Kheim Mali, or Mai, is espe
cially noticeable. This temple was built by the grand
mother of the late Malm Mongkut. The plant klieim
mai (indigenous to Siam), which bears a lovely little
blossom, was one of her favorite flowers, and she called
her temple by its name. Being a liberal patron of the
arts, she employed a promising young painter named Nai
Dang to decorate the Watt. The man would hardly be
remembered now but for a poem he wrote and dedicated
to the queen mother, in which her beauty and goodness
are extolled. I could learn of him no more than that he
was self-educated, and by unaided perseverance attained
a respectable proficiency in drawing and design. He had
also a fair knowledge of chemistry as it is practised in
the East ; but, aspiring to fame and fortune, he abandoned
that study and devoted himself exclusively to painting.
For years he struggled desperately against the discourage
ments of poverty in himself and ignorance in his neigh-
SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART. 179
bors, "but found his reward at last in this engagement
to embellish the walls of the Watt Kheim Mai.
Nai Bang's must have been an original and indepen
dent mind, for his conceptions in this cartoon are as bold
as his handling is vigorous and effective, while his colors
are more true to nature than any that I have seen in
Chinese or Japanese art.
He has grandly chosen for his subject the Birth of
Buddha. The mother of the divine teacher being on a
journey, is overtaken with the pangs of childbirth. Her
attendants and slaves have gathered about her ; but she,
as if conscious of the august nature of the babe she
is about to bestow upon the world, retires alone to the
shade of an orange grove, where, clinging to the friendly
boughs, with a look of blended rapture and pain, she
gives birth to the great reformer. A few steps farther
on, a circle of light is seen glowing round the feet of the
infant, as it attempts to rise and walk alone. Next wre
find the child in a rustic cradle ; a branch of the tree
under which he is sleeping bends low, to shield him from
the fierce rays of the sun, and his royal parents, behold
ing the miracle, kneel and adore him. Now lie is a
youthful prince, beautiful and gentle, troubled with pity
for the poor, the afflicted, and the aged, as they rest by
the roadside. And finally, as a hermit, he sits in the
shade of a boh-tree, rapt in divine contemplation.
It is a great work, full of imagination, truth,' and
power, if justly contemplated by the light of a semi-bar
baric age. Every figure is instinct with character and
action, and the whole is rendered with infinite ntiiwtt, as
though it represented undisputed and familiar facts.
On the opposite wall another great cartoon represents
the Hell of the Buddhists, with demons whose hideous
heads are those of fabulous beasts and creeping things.
As a work of imagination and force this is worthy to be
the companion of the Birtli of Buddha.
180 SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART.
The roof is painted as a firmament, — stars in a blue
ground ; and here it is that the charm of pure feeling and
noble treatment is most apparent. With five colors the
artist has produced all the variety we see. No cast shad
ows are shown, the forms themselves are but partially
shaded, yet wonderful harmony and beauty pervade the
whole. All honor to Nai Dang ! who alone, amid the na
tional decay of art and culture, preserved this germ of
glorious life and strength, wrapped in his own obscure,
neglected life !
The practice of decorating walls and ceilings with paint
ings may be traced to a remote period in the history of
Siamese art. In an ancient temple at Lophaburee is a
curious picture, of less merit than those of Nai Dang,
representing the marriage of Buddha with the princess
Thiwadi, beside many of the transmigrations of the
Buddhas ; and there are elsewhere one or two pictures
well worthy of notice, by masters whose names have not
been kept in remembrance. Thus art in Siam has degen
erated for want of kind, fostering patrons, and faithful,
sympathetic chroniclers, till it has become a thing of
mere tools and technics.
Nevertheless, they still paint with some cleverness on
wood, cloth, parchment, ivory, and plastic material, as well
as on gold and silver, — a sort of enamelling. They also re
tain a fair knowledge of effect in fresco, tracing the out
line on the wet ground, and laying on the color in a thin
glue ; in some of their later work of this kind that I have
seen, the idea of the designer is expressed with much
vigor.
Their mosaics, executed in colored porcelain of several
varieties, glass of all kinds, mother-of-pearl, and colored
marbles, represent chiefly flowers and sprays on a bril
liant ground. The most remarkable work of this kind is,
I imagine, that which is lavished on the temple Watt P'hra
SPIRE OF THE TEMPLE WATT-POH.
SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART. 181
Keau, — the walls, pillars, windows, roofs, towers, and gates
being everywhere overlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory,
and profusely gilded. The several facades are likewise
inlaid with ivory, glass, and mother-of-pearl, fixed with
cement in the mortar, which serves as a base. In all cases
these works are characterized by a touching simplicity,
which seems to struggle through much that is obscure
and illegible to get nearer to nature and truth. Most of
the tiles employed in the roofing of temples and palaces
are colored and gilt.
Among the older pictures, one in the Royal bedcham
ber of the abandoned palace deserves a parting glance.
It is a cartoon (much defaced, and here and there re
touched by clumsy Chinese hands) of The First Sin. In
the foreground a newly created world is rudely repre
sented, and here are several illuminated figures, human
but gigantic. One of these, discontented with his spirit
ual food, is seen tasting something, which we are told is
" fragrant earth " ; after which, in another figure, he ap
pears to be electrified, and here his monstrous anatomy is
depicted with ludicrous attempts at detail. No one could
tell me by whom or when this cartoon was painted, and
the painting itself is so little appreciated that I might
never have seen or heard of it but for a happy chance.
A characteristic effect in the few great works by Siamese
painters appears in their management of shade. They
impart to darkness a pervading inner light or clearness,
and heighten the effect of the deeper shadows by permit
ting objects to be seen through them. In addition to the
pictures I have described, one or two of some merit are
to be found in the Watt Brahmanee Waid.
The florid style of architecture seems to have been
familiar to the Siamese from a very early period. Their
palaces, temples, and pagodas afford innumerable exam
ples of it, many of them not unworthy of European art.
182 SIAMESE LITERATURE AND ART.
They build generally in brick, using a cement composed
of sand, chalk, and molasses, in which the skin of the
buffalo has been steeped. Their structures are the most
solid and durable imaginable. When the masons build
ing a wall round the new palace at Ayuthia found their
bricks falling short, they tried in vain to detach a supply
from the ruined temples and walls of that ancient city.
In the art of sculpture the Siamese are in advance of
their civilization. Not only in their palaces, temples, and
pagodas, but in their shops and dwellings likewise, and
even in their ships and boats, all sorts of figures are to be
seen, modelled and finished with more or less delicacy.
XXII
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
world is old, and all things old within it." We
J- plod a trodden path. No truth is new to-day, save
only that one which as a mantle covers the face of God,
lest we be blinded by the unveiled glory. How many
of earth's departed great, buried out of remembrance,
might have lived to-day in the love of the wise and just,
had theirs but been that perfect quickening which is the
breath of his Spirit upon the heart, the gift that " pass-
eth understanding ! " The world's helpers must first
become borrowers of God. The world's teachers must
first learn of him that only wisdom, which conieth not
of books nor jealous cloister cells, but out of the heart of
man as it opens yearningly to the cry of humanity, — the
Wisdom of Love. This alone may challenge a superior
mind, prizing truths not merely for their facts, but for
their motives, — motives for which individuals or great
communities either act or suffer, — to explore with a calm
and kindly judgment the spirit of the religion of the
Buddhists ; and not its spirit only, but its every look and
tone and motion as well, being so many complex expres
sions of the religious character in all its peculiar thoughts
and feelings.
" Who, of himself, can interpret the symbol expressed
by the wings of the air-sylph forming within the case of
the caterpillar ? Only he who feels in his own soul the
same instinct which impels the horned fly to leave room
184 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
in its involucrum for antennae yet to come." Such a man
knows and feels that the potential works in him even as
the actual works on him. As all the organs of sense are
framed for a correspondent world of sense, so all the
organs of the spirit are framed for a correspondent world
of spirit ; and though these latter be not equally de
veloped in us all, yet they surely exist in all ; else
how is it that even the ignorant, the depraved, and the
cruel will contemplate the man of unselfish and exalted
goodness with contradictory emotions of pity and respect ?
We are prone to ignore or to condemn that which we
do not clearly understand ; and thus it is, and on no
better ground, that we deny that there are influences in
the religions of the East to render their followers wiser,
nobler, purer. And yet no one of respectable intelligence
will question that there have been, in all ages, individual
pagans who, by the simplicity of their doctrine and the
purity of their practice, have approached very nearly to
the perfection of the Christian graces ; and that they
were, if not so much the better for the religion they had,
at least far, far better than if they had had no religion
at all.
It is not, however, in human nature to approve and
admire any course of life without inquiring into the spirit
of the law that regulates it. Nor may it suffice that the
spirit is there, if not likewise the letter, — that is to say,
the practice. The best doctrine may become the worst,
if imperfectly understood, erroneously interpreted, or
superstitiously followed.
In Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and India, the metaphys
ical analysis of Mind had attained its noontide splen
dor, while as yet experimental research had hardly
dawned. Those ancient mystics did much to promote in
tellectual emancipation, by insisting that Thought should
not be imprisoned within the mere outlines of any single
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 185
dogmatic system ; and they likewise availed, in no feeble
measure, to keep alive the heart in the head, by demand
ing an impartial reverence for every attribute of the
mind, till, by converting these into symbols to impress
the ignorant and stupid, they came at last to deify them.
Thus, with the uninitiated, their system degenerated into
an ignoble pantheism.
The renascence of Buddhism sought to eliminate from
the arrogant and impious pantheisms of Egypt, India, and
Greece a simple and pure philosophy, upholding virtue
as man's greatest good and highest reward. It taught
that the only object worthy of his noblest aspirations was
to render the soul (itself an emanation from God) fit to
be absorbed back again into the Divine essence from
which it sprang. The single aim, therefore, of pure
Buddhism seems to have been to rouse men to an inward
contemplation of the divinity of their own nature ; to fix
their thoughts on the spiritual life within as the only real
and true life ; to teach them to disregard all earthly dis
tinctions, conditions, privileges, enjoyments, privations,
sorrows, sufferings ; and thus to incite them to continual
efforts in the direction of the highest ideals of patience,
purity, self-denial.
Buddhism cannot be clearly defined by its visible re
sults to-day. There are more things in that subtile, mys
tical enigma called in the Pali Nirwana, in the Birmese
Niban, in the Siamese Niphan, than are dreamed of in
our philosophy. With the idea of Niphan in his the
ology, it were absurdly false to say the Buddhist has no
God. His Decalogue* is as plain and imperative as
the Christian's : —
I. From the meanest insect up to man thou shalt kill
no animal whatsoever.
II. Thou shalt not steal.
* Translated from the Pali.
186 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
III. Thou shalt not violate the wife of another, nor his
concubine.
IV. Thou shalt speak no word that is false.
V. Thou shalt not drink wine, nor anything that may
intoxicate.
VI. Thou shalt avoid all anger, hatred, and bitter lan
guage.
VII. Thou shalt not indulge in idle and vain talk.
VIII. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
IX. Thou shalt not harbor envy, nor pride, nor re
venge, nor malice, nor the desire of thy neighbor's death
or misfortune.
X. Thou shalt not follow the doctrines of false ^ods.
O
Whosoever abstains from these forbidden things is said
to " observe Silah " ; and whosoever shall faithfully ob
serve Silah, in all his successive metempsychoses, shall
continually increase in virtue and purity, until at length
he shall become worthy to behold God, and hear his
voice ; and so he shall obtain Niphan. " Be assiduous in
bestowing alms, in practising virtue, in observing Silah,
in performing Bavana, prayer ; and above all in adoring
Guadama, the true God. Eeverence likewise his laws
and his priests."
Many have missed seeing what is true and wise in the
doctrine of Buddha because they preferred to observe it
from the standpoint and in the attitude of an antagonist,
rather than of an inquirer. To understand aright the
earnest creed and hope of any man, one must be at least
sympathetically en rapport with him, — must be willing
to feel, and to confess within one's self, the germs of
those errors whose growth seems so rank in him. In the
humble spirit of this fellowship of fallibility let us draw
as near as we may to the hearts of these devotees and the
heart of their mystery.
My interesting pupil, the Lady Talap, had invited me
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 187
to accompany her to the royal private temple, Watt P'hra
Ke'au, to witness the services held there on the Buddhist
Sabato, or One-thu-sin. Accordingly we repaired together
to the temple on the day appointed. The day was
young, and the air was cool and fresh ; and as we ap
proached the place of worship, the clustered bells of the
pagodas made breezy gushes of music aloft. One of the
court pages, meeting us, inquired our destination. " The
Watt P'hra Keau," I replied. " To see or to hear ? "
" Both." And we entered.
On a floor diamonded with polished brass sat a throng
of women, the elite of Siam. All were robed in pure
white, with white silk scarfs drawn from the left shoulder
in careful folds across the bust and back, and thrown
gracefully over the right. A little apart sat their female
slaves, of whom many were inferior to their mistresses
only in social consideration and worldly gear, being their
half-sisters, — children of the same father by a slave
mother.
The women sat in circles, and each displayed her vase
of flowers and her lighted taper before her. In front of
all were a number of my younger pupils, the royal chil
dren, in circles also. Close by the altar, on a low square
stool, overlaid with a thin cushion of silk, sat the high-
priest, Chow Khoon Sah. In his hand he held a concave
fan, lined with pale green silk, the back richly embroi
dered, jewelled, and gilt.* He was draped in a yellow robe,
not unlike the Ptoman toga, a loose and flowing habit,
closed below the. waist, but open from the throat to the
girdle, which was simply a band of yellow cloth, bound
tightly. From the shoulders hung two narrow strips, also
yellow, descending over the robe to the feet, and resem
bling the scapular worn by certain orders of the Koman
* The fan is used to cover the face. Jewelled fans are marks of dis
tinction among the priesthood.
188 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
Catholic clergy. At his side was an open watch of
gold, the gift of his sovereign. At his feet sat seven
teen disciples, shading their faces with fans less richly
adorned.
We put off our shoes, — my child and I, — having
respect for the ancient prejudice against them ; * feeling
not so much reverence for the place as for the hearts that
worshipped there, caring to display not so much the love
of wisdom as the wisdom of love ; and well were we re
paid by the grateful smile of recognition that greeted us
as we entered.
We sat down cross-legged. No need to hush my boy,
— the silence there, so subduing, checked with its myste
rious awe even his inquisitive young mind. The venera
ble high-priest sat with his face jealously covered, lest
his eyes should tempt his thoughts to stray. I changed
my position to catch a glimpse of his countenance ; he
drew his fan-veil more closely, giving me a quick but gen
tle half-glance of remonstrance. Then raising his eyes,
with lids nearly closed, he chanted in an infantile, wailing
tone.
That was the opening prayer. At once the whole con
gregation raised themselves on their knees and, all to
gether, prostrated themselves thrice profoundly, thrice
touching the polished brass floor with their foreheads ;
and then, with heads bowed and palms folded and eyes
closed, they delivered the responses after the priest, much
in the manner of the English liturgy, first the priest, then
the people, and finally all together. There was no sing
ing, no standing up and sitting down, no changing of
robes or places, no turning the face to the altar, nor
north, nor south, nor east, nor west. All knelt still, with
hands folded straight before them, and eyes strictly, tightly
* " Put oft' thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground."
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 189
closed. Indeed, there were faces there that expressed
devotion and piety, the humblest and the purest, as
the lips murmured : " 0 Thou Eternal One, Thou per
fection of Time, Thou truest Truth, Thou immutable es
sence of all Change, Thou most excellent radiance of
Mercy, Thou infinite Compassion, Thou Pity, Thou Char-
ity!"
T lost some of the responses in the simultaneous repe
tition, and did but imperfectly comprehend the exhorta
tion that followed, in which was inculcated the strictest
practice of charity in a manner so pathetic and so gen
tle as might be wisely imitated by the most orthodox of
Christian priests.
There was majesty in the humility of those pagan wor
shippers, and in their shame of self they were sublime.
I leave both the truth and the error to Him who alone
can soar to the bright heights of the one and sound the
dark depths of the other, and take to myself the lesson,
to be read in the shrinking forms and hidden faces of
those patient waiters for a far-off glimmering Light, —
the lesson wherefrom I learn, in thanking God for the
light of Christianity, to thank him for its shadow too,
which is Buddhism.
Around the porches and vestibules of the temple
lounged the Amazonian guard, intent only on irreverent
amusement, even in the form of a grotesque and grim
flirtation here and there with the custodians of the tem
ple, who have charge of the sacred fire that burns before
the altar. About eighty-five years ago this fire went out.
It was a calamity of direful presage, and thereupon all
Siam went into a consternation of mourning. All public
spectacles were forbidden until the crime could be expi
ated by the appropriate punishment of the wretch to whose
sacrilegious carelessness it was due ; nor was the sacred
name rekindled until the reigu of P'hra-Pooti-Yaut-Fa,
190 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
grandfather of his late Majesty, when the royal Hall
of Audience was destroyed by lightning. From that
fire of heaven it was relighted with joyful thanksgiv
ing, and so has burned on to this day.
The lofty throne, on which the priceless P'hra Ke'au
(the Emerald Idol) blazed in its glory of gold and gems,
shone resplendent in the forenoon light. Everything
above, around it, — even the vases of flowers and the per
fumed tapers on the floor, — was reflected as if by magic
in its kaleidoscopic surface, now pensive, pale, and silvery
as with moonlight, now flashing, fantastic, with the party-
colored splendors of a thousand lamps.
The ceiling was wholly covered with hieroglyphic de
vices, — luminous circles and triangles, globes, rings, stars,
flowers, figures of animals, even parts of the human body,
— mystic symbols, to be deciphered only by the initialed.
Ah ! could I but have read them as in a book, construing all
their allegorical significance, how near might I not have
come to the distracting secret of this people ! Gazing
upon them, my thought flew back a thousand years, and
my feeble, foolish conjectures, like butterflies at sea, were
lost in mists of old myth.
Not that Buddhism has escaped the guessing and con
ceits of a multitude of writers, most trustworthy of whom
are the early Christian Fathers, who, to the end that they
might arouse the attention of the sleeping nations, yielded
a reluctant, but impartial and graceful, tribute to the long-
forgotten creeds of Chaldea, Phenicia, Assyria, and Egypt.
Nevertheless, they would never have appealed to the doc
trine of Buddha as being most like to Christianity in its
rejection of the claims of race, had they not found in its
simple ritual another and a stronger bond of brotherhood.
Like Christianity, too, it was a religion catholic and apos
tolic, for the truth of which many faithful witnesses had
laid down their lives. It was, besides, the creed of an
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 191
ancient race ; and the mystery that shrouded it had a
charm to pique the vanity even of self-sufficient Greeks,
and stir up curiosity even in Eoman arrogance and indif
ference. The doctrines of Buddha were eminently fitted
to elucidate the doctrines of Christ, and therefore worthy
to engage the interest of Christian writers ; accordingly,
among the earliest of these mention is made of the Buddha
or Phthah, though there were as yet few or none to appre
ciate all the religious significance of his teachings. Tere-
binthus declared there was " nothing in the pagan world to
be compared with his (Buddha's) Phra-ti-moksha, or Code
of Discipline, which in some respects resembled the rules
that governed the lives of the monks of Christendom ;
Marco Polo says of Buddha, " Si fuisset Christianus, fuis-
set apud Deum maximus factus " ; and later, Malcolm,
the .devoted missionary, said of his doctrine, " In almost
every respect it seems to be the best religion which man
has ever invented." Mark the " invented " of the wary
Christian !
But errors, that in time crept in, corrupted the pure
doctrine, and disciples, ignorant or stupid, perverted its
meaning and intent, and blind or treacherous guides led
the simple astray, till at last the true and plain philoso
phy of Buddha became entangled with the Egyptian my
thology.
Over the portal on the eastern facade of the Watt P'hra
Ke'au is a bass-relief representing the Last Judgment, in
which are figures of a devil with a pig's head dragging the
wicked to hell, and an angel weighing mankind in a pair
of scales. Now we know that in the mythology of an
cient Egypt the Pig was the emblem of the Evil Spirit,
and this bass-relief of the Siamese watt could hardly fail
to remind the Egyptologist of kindred compositions in
old sculptures wherein the good and bad deeds of the dead,
are weighed by Anubis (the Siamese Anurnan or Hanu-
192 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
man), and the souls of the wicked carried off by a
Pig-
In the city of Arsinoe in Upper Egypt (formerly Croco-
dilopolis, now Medinet-el-Fayum), the crocodile is wor
shipped ; and a sacred crocodile, kept in a pond, is
perfectly tame and familiar with the priests. He is called
Suchus, and they feed him with meat and corn and wine,
the contributions of strangers. One of the Egyptian
divinities, apparently that to whom the beast was con
secrated, is invariably pictured with the head of a croco
dile ; and in hieroglyphic inscriptions is represented by
that animal with the tail turned under the body. -A
similar figure is common in the temples of Siarn ; and a
sacred crocodile, kept in a pond in the manner of the
ancient Egyptians, is fed by Siamese priests, at whose call
it conies to the surface to receive the rice, fruit, and wine
that are brought to it daily.
The Beetle, an insect peculiarly sacred to the Buddhists,
was the Egyptian sign of Phthali, the Father of Gods ;
and in the hieroglyphics it stands for the name of that
deity, whose head is either surmounted by a beetle, or is
itself in the form of a beetle. Elsewhere in the hiero
glyphics, where it does not represent Buddha, it evidently
appears as the symbol of generation or reproduction, the
meaning most anciently attached to it ; whence Dr.
Young, in his " Hieroglyphical Researches," inferred its
relation to Buddha. Mrs. Hamilton Gray, in her work on
the Sepulchres of Etruria, observes : " As scarabaei existed
long before we had any account of idols, I do not doubt that
they were originally the invention of some really devout
mind ; and they speak to us in strong language of the dan
ger of making material symbols of immaterial things.
First, the symbol came to be trusted in, instead of the being
of whom it was the sign. Then came the bodily concep
tion and manifestation of that being, or his attributes, in the
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 193
form of idols. Next, the representation of all that be
longs to spirits, good and bad. And finally, the cleiri cation
of every imagination of the heart of man, — a written and
accredited system of polytheism, and a monstrous and
hydra-headed idolatry."
Such is the religious history of the scarabaeus, a crea
ture that so early attracted the notice of man by its
ingenious and industrious habits, that it was selected
by him to symbolize the Creator ; and cutting stones to
represent it,* he wore them in token of his belief in a
creator of all things, and in recognition of the Divine
Presence, probably attaching to them at first no more
mysterious import or virtue. There is sound reason for
believing that in this form the symbol existed before
Abraham, and that its fundamental signification of crea
tion or generation was gradually overbuilt with arbitrary
speculations and fantastic notions. In theory it degen
erated into a crude egoism, a vaunting and hyper-stoic
hostility to nature, which, though intellectually godless,
was not without that universal instinct for divinity which,
by countless ways, seeks with an ever-present and im
portunate longing for the one sublimated and eternal
source from which it sprang.
Through twenty-five million six hundred thousand
Asongkhies, or metempsychoses, — according to the over
powering computation of his priests, — did Buddha strug
gle to attain the divine omniscience of Niphan, by virtue
of which he remembers every form he ever entered, and
beholds with the clear eyes of a god the endless diversi
ties of transmigration in the animal, human, and angelic
worlds, throughout the spaceless, timeless, numberless
universe of visible and invisible life. According to He-
raclides, Pythagoras used to say of himself, that he re-
* Six rubies, exquisitely cut in the form of beetles, are worn as studs
by the present King of Siam.
9 M
194 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
membered " not only all the men, "but all the animals and
all the plants, his soul had passed through." That Py
thagoras believed and taught the doctrine of transmigra
tion may hardly be doubted, but that he originated it is
very questionable. Herodotus intimates that both Or
pheus and Pythagoras derived it from the Egyptians, but
propounded it as their own, without acknowledgment.
Nearly every male inhabitant of Siam enters the priest
hood at least once in his lifetime. Instead of the more
vexatious and scandalous forms of divorce, the party
aggrieved may become a priest or a nun, and thus the mat
rimonial bond is at once dissolved ; and with this advan
tage, that after three or four months of probation they
may be reconciled and reunited, to live together in the
world again.
Chow Khoon Sah, or " His Lordship the Lake," whose
functions in the Watt P'hra Ke'au I have described, was the
High-Priest of Siam, and in high favor with his Majesty.
He had taken holy orders with the double motive of de
voting himself to the study of Sanskrit literature, and of
escaping the fate, that otherwise awaited him, of becom
ing the mere thrall of his more fortunate cousin, the king.
In the palace it was whispered that he and the late queen
consort had been tenderly attached to each other, but
that the lady's parents, for prudential considerations, dis
countenanced the match ; " and so," on the eve of her
betrothal to his Majesty, her lover had sought seclusion
and consolation in a Buddhist monastery. However that
may be, it is certain that the king and the high-priest
were now fast friends. The latter entertained great re
spect for his reverend cousin, whose title (" The Lake ")
described justly, as well as poetically, the graceful seren
ity and repose of his demeanor.
Chow Khoon Sah lived at some distance from the pal-
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 195
ace, at the Watt Brahmanee Waid. As the friendship be
tween the cousins ripened, his Majesty considered that
it would be well for him to have the contemplative stu
dent, prudent adviser, and able reasoner nearer to him.
With this idea, and for a surprise to one to whom all
surprises had long since become but vanities and vexa
tions of spirit, he caused to be erected, about forty
yards from the Grand Palace, on the eastern side of the
Meinam, a temple which he named Eajali-BaJi-dit-Sang,
or " The King caused me to be built " ; and at the same
time, as an appendage to the temple, a monastery in me
diaeval style, — the workmanship in both structures being
most substantial and elaborate.
The sculptures and carvings on the pillars and facades
— half-fabulous, half-historical figures, conveying ingen
ious allegories of the triumph of virtue over the passions
— constituted a singular tribute to the exemplary fame
of the high-priest. The grounds were planted with trees
and shrubs, and the walks gravelled, thus inviting the
contemplative recluse to tranquil, soothing strolls. These
grounds were accessible by four gates, the principal one
facing the east, and a private portal opening on the
canal.
The laying of the foundation of the temple and mon
astery of Eajah-Bah-dit-Sang was the occasion of ex
traordinary festivities, consisting of theatrical spectacles
and performances, a carnival of dancing, mass around
every corner-stone, banquets to priests, and distributions
of clothing, food, and money to the poor. The king
presided every morning and evening under a silken can
opy ; and even those favorites of the harem who were
admitted to the royal confidence were provided with
tents, whence they could witness the shows, and partici
pate in the rejoicings in the midst of which the good
work went on.
196 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
After the several services of mass had been per
formed, and the corner-stones consecrated by the pouring
on of oil and water,* seven tall lamps were lighted to
burn above them seven days and nights, and seventy
priests in groups of seven, forming a perfect circle, prayed
continually, holding in their hands the mystic web of
seven threads, that weird circlet of life and death.
Then the youngest and fairest virgins of the land
brought offerings of corn and Avine, milk, honey, and
flowers, and poured them on the consecrated stones. And
after that, they brought pottery of all kinds, — vases,
urns, ewers, goglets, bowls, cups, and dishes, — and, fling
ing them into the foundations, united with zeal and re
joicing in the " meritorious " work of pounding them into
fine dust ; and while the instruments of music and the
voices of the male and female singers of the court kept
time to the measured crash and thud of the wooden
clubs in those young and tender hands, the king cast
into the foundation coins and ingots of gold and silver.
" Do you understand the word ' charity,' or maitri, as
your apostle St. Paul explains it in the thirteenth chap
ter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians ? " said his Maj
esty to me one morning, when he had been discussing
the religion of Sakyamuni, the Buddha.
" I believe I do, your Majesty," was my reply.
" Then, tell me, what does St. Paul really mean, to
what custom does he allude, when he says, ' Even if I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it prof-
iteth me nothing ' ? "
" Custom ! " said I. " I do not know of any custom.
The giving of the body to be burned is by him esteemed
the highest act of devotion, the purest sacrifice man can
make for man."
* Oil is the emblem of life and love ; water, of purity.
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 197
" You have said well. It is the highest act of devo
tion that can be made, or performed, by man for man, —
that giving of his body to be burned. But if it is done
from a spirit of opposition, for the sake of fame, or popu
lar applause, or for any other such motive, is it still to be
regarded as the highest act of sacrifice ? "
" That is just what St. Paul means : the motive conse
crates the deed."
" But all men are not fortified with the self-control
which should fit them to be great exemplars ; and of the
many who have appeared in that character, if strict in
quiry were made, their virtue would be found to proceed
from any other than the true and pure spirit. Sometimes
it is" indolence, sometimes restlessness, sometimes vanity
impatient for its gratification, and rushing to assume the
part of humility for the purpose of self-delusion."
" Now," said the King, taking several of his long strides
in the vestibule of his library, and declaiming with his
habitual emphasis, " St Paul, in this chapter, evidently
and strongly applies the Buddhist's word maitrt, or
maikrce, as pronounced by some Sanskrit scholars ; and
explains it through the Buddhist's custom of giving the
body to be burned, which was practised centuries before
the Christian era, and is found unchanged in parts of
China, Ceylon, and Siam to this day. The giving of the
body to be burned has ever been considered by devout
Buddhists the most exalted act of self-abnegation.
" To give all one's goods to feed the poor is common in
this' country, with princes and people, — who often keep
back nothing (not even one cowree, the thousandth part
of a cent) to provide for themselves a handful of rice.
But then they stand in no fear of starvation ; for death
by hunger is unknown where Buddhism is preached and
practised.
" I know a man, of royal parentage, and once possessed
198 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
of untold riches. In his youth he felt such pity for the
poor, the old, the sick, and such as were troubled and sor
rowful, that lie became melancholy, and after spending
several years in the continual relief of the needy and
helpless, lie, in a moment, gave all his goods, — in a word,
ALL, — • ' to feed the poor.' This man has never heard of
St. Paul or his writings ; but he knows, and tries to com
prehend in its fulness, the Buddhist word maitri.
" At thirty he became a priest. For five years he had
toiled as a gardener ; for that was the occupation he
preferred, because in the pursuit of it he acquired much
useful knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants,
and so became a ready physician to those who could not
pay for their healing. But he could not rest content with
so imperfect a life, while the way to perfect knowledge of
excellence, truth, and charity remained open to him ; so
he became a priest.
" This happened sixty-five years ago. Now he is nine
ty-five years old ; and, I fear, has not yet found the truth
and excellence he has been in search of so long. But I
know no greater man than he. He is great in the Chris
tian sense, — loving, pitiful, forbearing, pure.
" Once, when he was a gardener, he was robbed of his
few poor tools by one whom he had befriended in many
ways. Some time after that, the king met him, and in
quired of his necessities. He said he needed tools for his
gardening. A great abundance of such implements was
sent to him ; and immediately he shared them with his
neighbors, taking care to send the most and best to the
man who had robbed him.
" Of the little that remained to him, he gave freely to
all who lacked. Not his own, but another's wants, were
his sole argument in asking or bestowing. Now, he is
great in the Buddhist sense also, — not loving life nor
fearing death, desiring nothing the world can give, beyond
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 199
the peace of a beatified spirit. This man — who is now
the High-Priest of Siam — would, without so much as a
thought of shrinking, give his body, alive or dead, to be
burned, if so he might obtain one glimpse of eternal
truth, or save one soul from death or sorrow."
More than eighteen months after the First King of Siam
had entertained me with this essentially Buddhistic argu
ment, and its simple and impressive illustration, a party
of pages hurried me away with them, just as the setting
sun was trailing his last long, lingering shadows through
the porches of the palace. His Majesty required my
presence; and his Majesty's commands were absolute
and instant. " Find and fetch ! " No delay was to be
thought of, no question answered, no explanation afforded,
no excuse entertained. So with resignation I followed
my guides, who led the way to the monastery of Watt
Eajah-Bah-dit-Sang. But having some experience of the
moods and humors of his Majesty, my mind was not
wholly free from uneasiness. Generally, such impetu
ous summoning foreboded an interview the reverse of
agreeable.
The sun had set in glory below the red horizon when I
entered the extensive range of monastic buildings that
adjoin the temple. Wide tracts of waving corn and
avenues of oleanders screened from view the distant city,
with its pagodas and palaces. The air was fresh and
balmy, and seemed to sigh plaintively among the betel
and cocoa palms that skirt the monastery.
The pages left me seated on a stone step, and ran to
announce my presence to the king. Long after the moon
had come out clear and cool, and I had begun to wonder
where all this would end, a young man, robed in pure
white, and bearing in one hand a small lighted taper and
a lily in the other, beckoned me to enter, and follow him ;
200 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP.
and as we traversed the long, low passages that separate
the cells of the priests, the weird sound of voices, chant
ing the hymns of the Buddhist liturgy, fell upon my ear.
The darkness, the loneliness, the measured monotone, dis
tant and dreamy, all was most romantic and exciting,
even to a matter-of-fact English woman like myself.
As the page approached the threshold of one of the
cells, he whispered to me, in a voice full of entreaty, to
put oft1 my shoes ; at the same time prostrating himself
with a movement and expression of the most abject hu
mility before the door, where he remained, without chan
ging his posture. I stooped involuntarily, and scanned
curiously, anxiously, the scene within the cell. There sat
the king ; and at a sign from him I presently entered,
and sat down beside him.
On a rude pallet, about six and a half feet long, and
not more than three feet wide, and with a bare block of
wood for a pillow, lay a dying priest. A simple garment
of faded yellow covered his person ; his hands were fold
ed on his breast ; his head was bald, and the few blanched
hairs that might have remained to fringe his sunken tem
ples had been carefully shorn, — his eyebrows, too, were
closely shaven ; his feet were bare and exposed ; his eyes
were fixed, not in the vacant stare of death, but with
solemn contemplation or scrutiny, upward. No sign of
disquiet was there, no external suggestion of pain or
trouble ; I was at once startled and puzzled. Was he
dying, or acting ?
In the attitude of his person, in the expression of his
countenance, I beheld sublime reverence, repose, absorp
tion. He seemed to be communing with some spiritual
presence.
My entrance and approach made no change in him.
At his right side was a dim taper in a gold candlestick ;
on the left a dainty golden vase, filled with white lilies,
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 201
freshly gathered : these were offerings from the king.
One of the lilies had been laid on his breast, and con
trasted touchingly with the dingy, faded yellow of his
robe. Just over the region of the heart lay a coil of un-
spun cotton thread, which, being divided into seventy-
seven filaments, was distributed to the hands of the
priests, who, closely seated, quite filled the cell, so that
none could have moved without difficulty. Before each
priest were a lighted taper and a lily, symbols of faith and
purity. From time to time one or other of that solemn
company raised his voice, and chanted strangely ; and all
the choir responded in unison. These were the words, as
they were afterward translated for me by the king.
First Voice. Sang-Khang sara nang gach' cha mi !
(Thou Excellence, or Perfection ! I take refuge in thee.)
All. Kama Pootho sang-Khang sara nang gach' cha
mi ! (Thou who art named Poot-tho ! — either God,
Buddha, or Mercy, — I take refuge in thee.)
First Voice. Tuti ampi sang-Khang sara nang gach'
cha mi ! (Thou Holy One ! I take refuge in thee.)
All. Te satiya sang-Khang sara nang gach' cha mi!
(Thou Truth, I take refuge in thee.)
As the sound of the prayer fell on his ear, a flickering
smile lit up the pale, sallow countenance of the dying
man with a visible mild radiance, as though the charity
and humility of his nature, in departing, left the light of
their loveliness there. The absorbing rapture of that
look, which seemed to overtake the invisible, was almost
too holy to gaze upon. Eiches, station, honors, kindred,
he had resigned them all, more than half a century since,
in his love for the poor and his longing after truth.
Here was none of the wavering or vagueness or incohe
rence of a wandering, delirious death. He was going to
his clear, eternal calm. With a smile of perfect peace he
said : " To your Majesty I commend the poor ; and this
9*
202 BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PRIESTS, AND WORSHIP
that remains of me I give to be "burned." And that, his
last gift, was indeed his all.
I can imagine no spectacle more worthy to excite a
compassionate emotion, to impart an abiding impression
of reverence, than the tranquil dying of that good old
" pagan." Gradually his breathing became more labo
rious -, and presently, turning with a great effort toward the
king, he said, Chan cha pi daiini I — "I will go now • "
Instantly the priests joined in a loud psalm and ' chant,
" P'hra Arahang sang-Khang sara nang gach' cha mi ! "
(Thou Sacred One, I take refuge in thee.) A few min
utes more, and the spirit of the High-Priest of Siam had
calmly breathed itself away. The eyes were open and
fixed ; the hands still clasped ; the expression sweetly
content. My heart and eyes were full of tears, yet I
was comforted. By what hope ? I know not, for I dared
not question it.
On the afternoon of the next clay I was again sum
moned by his Majesty to witness the burning of that body.
It was carried to the cemetery Watt Sail Kate ; and
there men, hired to do such dreadful offices upon the dead,
cut off all the flesh and flung it to the hungry dogs that
haunt that monstrous garbage-field of Buddhism. The
bones, and all that remained upon them, were thoroughly
burned ; and the ashes, carefully gathered in an earthen
pot, were scattered in the little gardens of wretches too
poor to buy manure. All that was left now of the ven
erable devotee was the remembrance of a look.
" Tliis/' said the King, as I turned away sickened and
sorrowful, "is to give one's body to be burned. This is
what your St. Paul had in his mind, — this custom of
our Buddhist ancestors, this complete self-abnegation in
life and in death, — when he said, 'Even if I give my
body to be burned, and have not charity [maitri], it
profited! me nothing.'"
BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, PHIESTS, AND WORSHIP. 203
COMMON MAXIMS OF THE PRIESTS OF SIAM.
Glory not in thyself, but rather in thy neighbor.
Dig not the earth, which is the source of life and the
mother of all.
Cause no tree to die.
Kill no beast, nor insect, not even the smallest ant or fly.
Eat nothing between meals.
Eegard not singers, dancers, nor players on instruments.
Use no perfume but sweetness of thoughts.
Neither sit nor sleep in high places.
Be lowly in thy heart, that thou mayst be lowly in
thy act.
Hoard neither silver nor gold.
Entertain not thy thoughts with worldly things.
Do no work but the work of charity and truth.
Give not flowers unto women, but rather prayers.
Contract no friendship with the hope of gain.
Borrow nothing, but rather deny thy want.
Lend not unto usury.
Keep neither lance, nor sword, nor any deadly weapon.
Judge not thy neighbor.
Bake not, nor burn.
Wink not. Be not familiar nor contemptuous.
Labor not for hire, but for charity.
Look not upon women un chastely.
Make no incisions that may draw blood or sap, which
is the life of man and nature.
Give no medicines which contain poison, but study to
acquire the true art of healing, which is the highest of all
arts, and pertains to the wise and benevolent.
Love all men equally.
Perform not thy meditations in public places.
Make no idols of any kind.
XXIII.
CREMATION.
AS soon as his Majesty had recovered from his genu
ine convulsion of grief for the death of his sweet
little princess, Somdetch Chow Fa-ying, he proceeded,
habited in white, with all his family, to visit the cham
ber of mourning. The grand-aunt of the dead child, who
seemed the most profoundly afflicted of all that numerous
household, still lay prostrate at the feet of her pale cold
darling, and would not be comforted. As his Majesty
entered, silently ushered, she moved, and mutely laid her
head upon his feet, moaning, Poot-tlw ! Poot-tlw ! There
were tears and sighs and heart -wrung sobs around.
Speechless, but with trembling lips, the royal father took
gently in his arms the little corpse, and bathed it in the
Siamese manner, by pouring cold water upon it. In this
he was followed by other members of the royal family,
the more distant relatives, and such ladies of the harem
as chanced to be in waiting, — each advancing in the
order of rank, and pouring pure cold water from a silver
bowl over the slender body. Two sisters of the king then
shrouded the corpse in a sitting posture, overlaid it with
perfumes and odoriferous gums, frankincense and myrrh,
and, lastly, swaddled it in a fine winding-sheet. Finally
it was deposited in a golden urn, and this again in an
other of finer gold, richly adorned with precious stones.
The inner urn has an iron grating in the bottom, and
the outer an orifice at its most pendent point, through
CREMATION. 205
which, by means of a tap or stop-cock, the fluids are
drawn off daily, until the cadavre has become quite
dry.
This double urn was borne on a gilt sedan, under a
royal gilt umbrella, to the temple of the Maha Phrasat,
where it was mounted on a graduated platform about six
feet high. During this part of the ceremony, and while
the trumpeters and the blowers of conch-shells performed
their lugubrious parts, his Majesty sat apart, his face
buried in his hands, confessing a keener anguish than had
ever before cut his selfish heart.
The urn being thus elevated, all the insignia pertaining
to the rank of the little princess were disposed in formal
order below it, as though at her feet. Then the musicians
struck up a passionate passage, ending in a plaintive and
truly solemn dirge ; after which his Majesty and ail the
princely company retired, leaving the poor clod to await,
in its pagan gauds and mockery, the last offices of friend
ship. But not always alone ; for thrice daily — at early
dawn, and noon, and gloaming — the musicians came to
perform a requiem for the soul of the dead, — " that it
may soar on high, from the flaming, fragrant pyre for
which it is reserved, and return to its foster parents,
Ocean, Earth, Air, Sky." With these is joined a concert
of mourning women, who bewail the early dead, extolling
her beauty, graces, virtues ; while in the intervals, four
priests (who are relieved every fourth hour) chant the
praises of Buddha, bidding the gentle spirit " Pass on !
Pass on ! " and boldly speed through the labyrinth before
it, " through high, deep, and famous things, through
good and evil things, through truth and error, through
wisdom and folly, through sorrow, suffering, hope, life,
joy, love, death, through endless mutability, into immu
tability ! "
These services are performed with religious care daily
206 CREMATION.
for six months ; * that is, until the time appointed for
cremation. Meanwhile, in the obsequies of the Princess
Ea-ying, arrangements were made for the erection of the
customary P'hra-mene, — a temporary structure of great
splendor, where the body lies in state' for several days,
on a throne dazzling with gold and silver ornaments and
precious stones.
For the funeral honors of royalty it is imperative that
the P'hra-mene be constructed of virgin timber. Trunks
of teak, from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet
in length, and of proportionate girth, are felled in the
forests of Myolonghee, and brought down the Meinam in
rafts. These trunks, planted thirty feet deep, one at each
corner of a square, serve as pillars, not less than a hun
dred and seventy feet high, to support a sixty-foot spire,
an octagonal pyramid, covered with gold leaf. Attached
to this pyramid are four wings, forty feet long, with
handsome porches looking to the cardinal points of the
compass ; here also are four colossal figures of heroic
myths, each with a lion couchant at its feet.
On one side of the square reserved for the P'hra-mene,
a vast hall is erected to accommodate the Supreme King
and his family while attending the funeral ceremonies.
The several roofs of this temporary edifice have peculiar
horn-like projections at the ends, and are covered with
crimson cloth, while golden draperies are suspended
from the ceiling. The entire space around the P'hra-
mene is matted with bamboo wicker-work, and decorated
with innumerable standards peculiar to Siam. Here and
there may be seen grotesque cartoons of the wars of gods
and giants, and rude landscapes supposed to represent the
Buddhist's heaven, with lakes and groves and gardens.
Beyond these are playhouses for theatrical displays, pup
pet-shows, masquerades, posturing, somersaulting, leap-
* Twelve months for a king.
CREMATION. 207
ing, wrestling, balancing on ropes and wires, and the
tricks of professional buffoons. Here also are restaurants,
or cook-shops, for all classes of people above the degree
of boors ; and these are open day and night during the
period devoted to the funeral rites.
The grand lodge erected for the Second King and his
household, at the cremation of his little niece, resembled
that of his brother, the Supreme King, in the regal style
of its decorations.
The centre of the P'hra-mene is a lofty octagon ; and
directly under the great spire is a gorgeous eight-sided
pyramid, diminishing by right-angled gradations to a
truncated top, its base being fifty or sixty feet in circum
ference, and higher by twenty feet than the surrounding
buildings. On this pyramid stood the urn of gold con
taining the remains of the royal child. Above the urn a
golden canopy hung from the lofty ceiling, and far above
this again a circular white awning was spread, represent
ing the firmament studded with silver stars. Under the
canopy, and just over little Fa-ying's urn, the whitest and
most fragrant flowers, gathered and arranged by those
who loved her best in life, formed a bright odoriferous
bower. The pyramid itself was decorated with rare and
beautiful gifts, of glass, porcelain, alabaster, silver, gold,
and artificial flowers, with images of birds, beasts, men,
women, children, and angels. Splendid chandeliers sus
pended from the ceiling, and lesser lights on the angles
of the pyramid, illuminated the funeral hall.
These showy preparations completed, the royal mourn
ers only waited for the appointed time when the remains
must be laid in state upon the consecrated pyre. At
dawn of that day, all the princes, nobles, governors, and
superior priests of the kingdom, with throngs of baser
men, women, and children, in their holiday attire, came
to grace the " fiery consummation " of little Fa-ying. A
208 CREMATION.
royal barge conveyed me, with my boy, to the palace,
whence we followed on foot.
The gold urn, in an ivory chariot of antique fashion,
richly gilt, was drawn by a pair of milk-white horses, and
followed and attended by hundreds of men clad in pure
white. It was preceded by two other chariots ; in the
first sat the high-priest, reading short, pithy aphorisms
and precepts from the sacred books ; in the other fol
lowed the full brothers of the deceased. A strip of
silver cloth, six inches wide, attached to the urn, was
loosely extended to the seats of the royal mourners in this
second chariot, and thence to the chariot of the high-
priest, on whose lap the ends were laid, symbolizing the
mystic union between death, life, and the Buddha.
Next after the urn came a chariot laden with the sa
cred sandal- wood, the aromatic gums, and the wax tapers.
The wood was profusely carved with emblems of the in
destructibility of matter ; for though the fire apparently
consumes the pile, and with it the body, the priests are
careful to interpret the process as that by which both are
endued with new vitality ; thus everything consecrated
to the religious observances of Buddhism is made to
typify some latent truth.
Then came a long procession of mythological figures,
nondescripts drawn on small wooden wheels, and covered
with offerings for the priests. These were followed by
crowds of both sexes and all ages, bearing in their hands
the mystic triform flower, emblematic of the sacred circle,
Om, or Aum. To hold this mystic flower above the head,
and describe with it endless circles in the air, is regarded
as a -performance of peculiar virtue and " merit," and one
of the most signal acts of devotion possible to a Buddhist.
And yet, as the symbol of One great Central Spirit,
whose name it is profanation to utter, the symbol is
strangely at variance with the doctrines of Buddhism.
CREMATION". 209
The moment the strange concourse, human and mytho
logical, began to move, the conch-shells, horns, trumpets,
sackbuts, pipes, dulcimers, flutes, and harps rent the air
with wild wailing ; but above the din rose the deep,
booming, measured beat of the death-drums. Very subtile,
and indescribably stirring is this ancient music, with its
various weird and prolonged cadences, and that solemn
thundering boom enhancing the peculiar sweetness of the
dirge as it rises and falls.
Under the spell of such sounds as these the procession
moved slowly to the P'hra-mene. Here the urn was lifted
by means of pulleys, and enthroned on the splendid pedes
tal prepared for it. The silver cloth from the chariot
of the high-priest was laid upon it, the ends drooping on
the eastern and western sides to the rich carpet of the
floor. A hundred priests, fifty on either hand, rehearsed
in concert, seated on the floor, long hymns in Pali from
the sacred books, principally embodying melancholy re
flections on the brevity and uncertainty of human life.
After which, holding the silver cloth between the thumb
and forefinger, they joined in silent prayer, thereby, as
they suppose, communicating a saving virtue to the cloth,
which conveys it to the dead within the urn. They con
tinued thus engaged for about an hour, and then with
drew to give place to another hundred, and so on, until
thousands of priests had taken part in the solemn exer
cises. Meanwhile the four already mentioned still prayed,
day and night, at the Maha Phrasat. A service was like
wise performed for the royal family twice a day, in an
adjacent temporary chapel, where all the court attended,
— including the noble ladies of the harem, who occupy
private oratories, hung with golden draperies, behind
which they can see and hear without being seen. As
long as these funeral ceremonies last, the numerous con
course of priests is sumptuously entertained.
210 CREMATION.
At nightfall the P'hra-mene is brilliantly illuminated,
within and without, and the people are entertained with
dramatic spectacles derived from the Chinese, Hindoo, Ma
layan, and Persian classics. Effigies of the fabulous Hy
dra, or dragon with seven heads, illuminated, and animated
by men concealed within, are seen endeavoring to swal
low the moon, represented by a globe of fire. Another
monster, probably the Chimsera, with the head and breast
of a lion and the body of a goat, vomits flame and smoke.
There are also figures of Echidna and Cerberus, the former
represented as a beautiful nymph, but terminating below
the waist in the coils of a dragon or python ; and the
latter as a triple-headed dog, evidently the canine buga
boo that is supposed to have guarded Pluto's dreadful
gates.
About nine o'clock fireworks were ignited by the king's
own hand, — a very beautiful display, representing, among
other graceful forms, a variety of shrubbery, which gradu
ally blossomed with roses, dahlias, oleanders, and other
flowers.
The flinging of money and trinkets to the rabble is
usually the most exciting of the pranks which diversify
the funeral ceremonies of Siamese royalty ; in this mal a
propos pastime his Majesty took a lively part. The per
sonal effects of the deceased are divided into two or more
equal portions, one of which is bestowed on the poor,
another on the priests ; memorials and complimentary
tokens are presented to the princes and nobles, and the
friends of the royal family. The more costly articles are
ticketed and distributed by lottery ; and smaller objects,
such as rings and. gold and silver coins, are put into
lemons, which his Majesty, standing on the piazza of his
temporary palace, flings among the sea of heads below.
There is also at each of the four corners of the P'hra-
mene, an artificial tree, bearing gold and silver fruit, which
CREMATION. 211
is plucked by officers of the court, and tossed to the poor
on every side. Each throw is hailed by a wild shout
from the multitude, and followed by a mad scramble.
In this connection the following "notification" from
the king's hand will be intelligible to the reader.
"THE NOTIFICATION
" In regard to the mourning distribution and donation
in funeral service or ceremony of cremation of the re
mains of Her late Koyal Highness celestial Princess Som-
detch Chowfa Chandrmondol Sobhon Bhagiawati,* whose
death took place on the 12th May, Anno Christ! 1863.
" This Part consisting of a glasscoverbox enclosing a
idol of Chinese fabulousquadruped called ' sai ' or Lion,
covered with goldleaf ornamented with coined pieces of
silver & rings a black bag of funeral balls enclosing
some pieces of gold and silver coins &c., in funeral ser
vice of Her late Eoyal Highness the forenamed princess,
the ninth daughter or sixteenth offspring of His Majesty
the reigning Supreme King of Siam, which took place in
ceremony continued from 16th to 21st day of February
Anno Christi 1864. prepared ex-property of Her late la
mented Eoyal Highness the deceased, and assistant funds
from certain members of the Royal Family, designed from
his Gracious Majesty Somdetch P'hra Paramendr Maha
Mongkut, Her late Eoyal Highness' bereaved Eoyal father.
Their Eoyal Highnesses celestial princes Somdetch Chowfa
Chtilalonkorn the full elder brother, Chowfa Chaturont
Easmi, and Chowfa Bhangurangsi Swang-wongse, the two
younger full brothers, and His Eoyal Highness Prince
Nbbliawongs Krommun Maha-suarsivivalas the eldest half
brother. Their Eoyal Highnesses twenty-five princes,
Krita-bhinihar, Gaganang Yugol &c. the younger half-
* Fa-yiug.
212 CREMATION.
brothers, and their Eoyal Highnesses seven princesses,
Yingyawlacks, Dacksinja, and Somawati, &c., the elder
sisters, 18 princesses, Srinagswasti, &c., the younger half-
sisters of Her late Koyal Higliness the deceased, for
friendly acceptance of - — who is one of
His present Siamese Majesty's friends who either have
ever been acquainted in person or through means of cor
respondence &c. certain of whom have ever seen Her late
Eoyal Highness, and some have been acquainted with
certain of her late Eoyal Highness the deceased's elder
or younger brothers and sisters.
" His Siamese Majesty, with his 29 sons, and 25
daughters above partly named, trusts that this part
will be acceptable to every one of His Gracious Maj
esty's and their Eoyal Highnesses' friends who ever have
been acquainted with his present Majesty, and certain
of Their Eoyal Highnesses or Her late Eoyal Highness
the deceased, either in person or by correspondence, or
only by name through cards &c. for a token of remem
brance of Her late Eoyal Highness the deceased and for
feeling of Emotion that this path ought to be followed
by every one of human beings after long or short time, as
the lights of lives of all living beings are like flames of
candles lighted in opening air without covering and Pro
tecting on every side, so it shall be considered with great
emotion by the readers.
" Dated ROYAL FUNERAL PLACE.
BANGKOK, 20th February, Anno Christi 1864."
Thus twelve days were passed in feasting, drinking,
praying, preaching, sporting, gambling and scrambling.
On the thirteenth, the double urn, with its melancholy
moral, was removed from the pyramid, and the inner one,
with the grating, was laid on a bed of fragrant saridal-
wood, and aromatic gums, connected with a train of gun-
CREMATION. 213
powder, which the king ignited with a match from the
sacred fire that burns continually in the temple Watt
P'hra Keau. The Second King then lighted his candles
from the same torch, and laid them on the pyre ; and so
on, in the order of rank, down to the meanest slave,
until many hundreds of wax candles and boxes of pre
cious spices and fragrant gums were cast into the flames.
The funeral orchestra then played a wailing dirge, and
the mourning women broke into a concerted and pro
longed keen, of the most ear-piercing and heart-rending
description.
When the fire had quite burned itself out, all that re
mained of the bones, charred and blackened, was care
fully gathered, deposited in a third and smaller urn of
gold, and again conveyed in great state to the Maha Phra-
sat. The ashes were also collected with scrupulous pains
in a pure cloth of white muslin, and laid in a gold dish ;
afterward, attended by all the mourning women and mu
sicians, and escorted by a procession of barges, it was
floated some miles down the river, and there committed
to the waters.
Nothing left of our lovely darling but a few charred
bits of rubbish ! But in memory I still catch glimpses of
the sylph-like form, Mf veiled in the shroud of flame
that wrapped her last, but with the innocent, questioning
eyes still turned to me ; and as I look back into their
depths of purity and love, again and again I mourn, as at
first, for that which made me feel, more and more by its
sympathy, the peculiar desolation of my life in the palace.
Immediately on the death of a Supreme King an order
is issued for the universal shaving of the bristly tuft
from the heads of all male subjects. Only those princes
who are older than their deceased sovereign are exempt
from the operation of this law.
214 CREMATION.
Upon his successor devolves the duty of providing for
the erection of the royal P'hra-mene — as to the propor
tions and adornment of which he is supposed to be
guided by regard for the august rank of the deceased, and
the public estimation in which his name and fame are
held. Royal despatches are forthwith sent to the gov
ernors of four different provinces in the extreme north,
where the noblest timber abounds, commanding each of
them to furnish one of the great pillars for the P'hra-
mene. These must be of the finest wood, perfectly
straight, from two hundred to two hundred and fifty
feet long, and not less than twelve feet in circumfer
ence.
At the same time twelve pillars, somewhat smaller, are
required from the governors of twelve other provinces ;
besides much timber in other forms necessary to the con
struction of the grand funeral hall and its numerous sup
plementary buildings. As sacred custom will not tolerate
the presence of pillars that have already been used for
any purpose whatever, it is indispensable that fresh ones,
" virgin trunks," be procured for every new occasion of
the obsequies of royalty. These four great trunks are
hard to find, and can be floated down the Meinam to the
capital only at the seasons when that stream and its trib
utaries are high. This is perhaps the natural cause of the
long interval that elapses — twelve months — between
the death and the cremation of a Siamese king.
The "giant boles" are dragged in primitive fashion to
the banks of the stream by elephants and buffaloes, and
shipped in rafts. Arrived at Bangkok, they are hauled
on rollers inch by inch, by men working with a rude
windlass and levers, to the site of the P'hra-mene.
The following description of the cremation, at Bejre-
puri, of a man " in the middle walks of life," is taken
from the Bangkok Recorder of May 24, 1866 : —
CREMATION. 215
" The corpse was first to be offered to the vultures, a
hundred or more. Before the coffin was opened the filthy
and horrible gang had assembled, ' for wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles (vultures) be gathered
together.' They were perched on the ridges of the tem
ple, and even on small trees and bushes, within a few feet
of the body ; and so greedy were they that the sexton
and his assistants had to beat them off many times before
the coffin could be opened. They seemed to know that
there would be but a mouthful for each, if divided among
them all, and the pack of greedy dogs besides, that waited
for their share. The body was taken from the coffin and
laid on a pile of wood that had been prepared on a small
temporary altar. Then the birds were allowed to descend
upon the corpse and tear it as they liked. For a while it
was quite hidden in the rush. But each bird, grabbing its
part with bill and claws, spread its wings and mounted to
some quiet place to eat. The sexton seemed to think
that he too was ' making merit ' by cutting off parts of the
body and throwing them to the hungry dogs, as the dying
man had done in bequeathing his body to those carrion-
feeders. The birds, not satisfied with what they got from
the altar, came down and quarrelled with the curs for
their share.
" While this was going on, the mourners stood waiting,
with wax candles and incense sticks, to pay their last
tribute of respect to the deceased by assisting in the burn
ing of the bones after the vultures and dogs had stripped
them. The sexton, with the assistance of another, gath
ered up the skeleton and put it back into the coffin, which
was lifted by four men and carried around the funeral
pile three times. It was then laid on the pile of wood,
and a few sticks were put into the coffin to aid in burn
ing the bones. Then a lighted torch was applied to the
pile, and the relatives and other mourners advanced, and
216 CREMATION.
laid each a wax candle by the torch. Others brought in
cense and cast it on the pile.
" The vultures, having had but a scanty breakfast, lin
gered around the place until the fire had left nothing more
for them, when they shook their ugly heads, and hopping
a few steps, to get up a momentum, flapped their harpy
wings and flew away."
XXIV.
CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS.
MY friend Maha Mongkut used to maintain, with the
doctors and sophists of his sect, that the Buddhist
priesthood have no superstitions ; that though they do
not accept the Christian's " Providence," they do believe
in a Creator (Phra-Tham), at whose will all crude mat
ter sprang into existence, but who exercises no further
control over it ; that man is but one of the endless muta
tions of matter, — was not created, but has existed from the
beginning, and will continue to exist to all eternity ; that
though he was not born in sin, he is held by the second
ary law of retribution accountable for offences committed
in his person, and these he must expiate through subse
quent transmigrations, until, by sublimation, he is ab
sorbed again into the primal source of his being ; and
that mutability is an essential and absolute law of the
universe.
In like manner they protest that they are not idolaters,
any more than the Roman Catholics are pagans ; that
the image of Buddha, their Teacher and High-Priest, is to
them what the crucifix is to the Jesuit ; neither more nor
less. They scout the idea that they worship the white
elephant, but acknowledge that they hold the beast
sacred, as one of the incarnations of their great re
former.
Nevertheless, no nation or tribe of all the human race
has ever been more profoundly inoculated with a su-
10
218 CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS.
perstition the most depraving and malignant than the
Siamese. They have peopled their spiritual world with
grotesques, conceived in hallucination and brought forth
in nightmare, the monstrous devices of mischief on the
one hand and misery on the other, — gods, demons, genii,
goblins, wraiths ; and to natter or propitiate these, es
pecially to enlist their tutelary offices, they commit or
connive at crimes of fantastic enormity.
While residing within the walls of Bangkok, I learned
of the existence of a custom having all the stability and
force of a Medo-Persic law. Whenever a command has
gone forth from the throne for the erection of a new fort
or a new gate, or the reconstruction of an old one, this
ancient custom demands, as the first step in the proce
dure, that three innocent men shall be immolated on the
site selected by the court astrologers, and at their " aus
picious " hour.
In 1865, his Majesty and the French Consul at Bang
kok had a grave misunderstanding about a proposed
modification of a treaty relating to Cambodia. The con
sul demanded the removal of the prime minister from the
commission appointed to arrange the terms of this treaty.
The king replied that it was beyond his power to remove
the Kralahome. Afterward, the consul, always irritable
and insolent, having nursed his wrath to keep it warm,
waylaid the king as he was returning from a temple, and
threatened him with war, and what not, if he did not ac
cede to his demands. Whereupon, the poor king, effec
tually intimidated, took refuge in his palace behind barred
gates ; and forthwith sent messengers to his astrologers,
magicians, and soothsayers, to inquire what the situation
prognosticated.
The magi and the augurs, and all the seventh sons of
seventh sons, having shrewedly pumped the officers, and
made a solemn show of consulting their oracles, replied :
CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS. 219
" The times are full of omen. Danger approaches from
afar. Let his Majesty erect a third gate, on the east and
on the west."
Next morning, betimes, pick and spade were busy, dig
ging deep trenches outside the pair of gates that, on the
east and west alike, already protected the palace.
Meanwhile, the consul either quite forgot his threats,
or cooled in the cuddling of them ; yet day and night the
king's people plied pick and spade and basket in the new
foundations. When all was ready, the San Luang, or
secret council of Eoyal Judges, met at midnight in the
palace, and despatched twelve officers to lurk around the
new gates until dawn. Two, stationed just within the
entrance, assume the character of neighbors and friends,
calling loudly to this or that passenger, and continually
repeating familiar names. The peasants and market folk,
who are always passing at that hour, hearing these calls,
stop, and turn to see who is wanted. Instantly the myr
midons of the san luang rush from their hiding-places,
and arrest, hap-hazard, six of them — three for each gate.
From that moment the doom of these astonished, trem
bling wretches is sealed. No petitions, payments, prayers,
can save them.
In the centre of the gateway a deep fosse or ditch is
dug, and over it is suspended by two cords an enormous
beam. On the " auspicious " day for the sacrifice, the in
nocent, unresisting victims — " hinds and churls " per
haps, of the lowest degree in Bangkok — are mocked with
a dainty and elaborate banquet, and then conducted in
state to their fatal post of honor. The king and all the
court make profound obeisance before them, his Majesty
adjuring them earnestly " to guard with devotion the
gate, now about to be intrusted to their keeping, from all
dangers and calamities ; and to come in season to fore
warn him, if either traitors within or enemies without
220 CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS.
should conspire against the peace of his people or the
safety of his throne." Even as the last word of this ex
hortation falls from the royal lips, the cords are cut, the
ponderous engine " squelches " the heads of the distin
guished wretches, and three Bangkok ragamuffins are
metempsychosed into three guardian-angels (Thevedali).
Siamese citizens of wealth and influence often bury
treasure in the earth, to save it from arbitrary confiscation.
In such cases a slave is generally immolated on the spot,
to make a guardian genius. Among certain classes, not
always the lowest, we find a greedy passion that expends
itself in indefatigable digging for such precious caches,
in the environs of abandoned temples, or among the ruins
of the ancient capital, Ayudia. These treasure-seekers
first pass a night near the supposed place of concealment,
having offered at sunset to the genius of the spot obla
tions of candles, perfumed tapers, and roasted rice. They
then betake themselves to slumber ; and in their dreams
the genie is expected to appear, and indicate precisely
the hiding-place of his golden charge, at the same time
offering to wink at its sacking in consideration of the reg
ular perquisite, — " one pig's head and two bottles of ar
rack." On the other hand, the genie may appear in an
angry aspect, flourishing the conventional club in a style
that means business, and demanding by what right the
intruders would tamper with his charge ; whereat sudden
waking and dishevelled flight.
Another and more barbarous superstition relates to
premature delivery. In such a case the embarrassed
mother calls in a female magician, who declares that an
evil spirit has practised a spiteful joke upon the married
pair, with a design upon the life of the mother. So say
ing, she pops the still-born into an earthen pot, and with
that in her left hand and a sword in her right, makes for
the margin of a deep stream, where, with an approved
CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS. 221
imprecation upon the fiend and a savage slash at the
manikin, she tosses the pot and its untimely contents
into the flood.
By such witches as this, sorceries of all kinds are prac
tised for fee. They are likewise supposed to be skilled
in the art of healing, and are notable compounders of
love-philters and potions.
The king supports a certain number of astrologers,
whose duties consist in the prediction of events, whether
great or small, from war or peace to rain or drought, and
in indicating or determining future possibilities by the
aspect and position of the stars. The people universally
wear charms and talismans, to which they ascribe super
natural virtues. A patient in fever with delirium is said
to be possessed of a devil; and should he grow frantic
and unmanageable in the paroxysms, the one becomes a
legion. At the close of each year, a thread of unspun
cotton, of seven fibres, consecrated by priests, is reeled
round all the walls of the palace ; and from sunset until
dawn a continuous cannonading is kept up from all the
forts within hearing, to rout the evil spirits that have
infested the departing year.
XXV.
THE SUBORDINATE KING.
A SECOND or subordinate kingship is an anomalous
device or provision of sovereignty peculiar to Siam,
Cambodia, and Laos. Inferior in station to the Supreme
King only, and apparently deriving from the throne of the
Phra-batts, to which he may approach so near, a reflected
majesty and prestige not clearly understood by his sub
jects nor easily defined by foreigners, the Second King
seems to be, nevertheless, belittled by the very signifi
cance of the one exclusive privilege that should distin
guish him, — that of exemption from the customary pros
trations before the First King, whom he may salute by
simply raising his hands and joining them above his head.
Here his proper right of royalty begins and ends. The
part that he may play in the drama of government is cast
to him in the necessity, discretion, or caprice of his abso
lute chief next, and yet so far, above him ; it may be
important, insignificant, or wholly omitted. Like any
lesser clucus of the realm, he must appear before his lord
twice a year to renew his oath of allegiance. In law, he
is as mere a subject as the slave who bears his betel-box ;
or that other slave who, on his knees, and with averted
face, presents his spittoon. In history, he shall be what
circumstance or his own mind may make him : the shadow
or the soul of sovereignty, even as the intellectual and
moral weakness or strength may have been apportioned
between him and his colleague. From his rank he derives
no advantage but the chance.
THE PRINCESS OF CHIENGMAT.
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 223
Somdetch P'hra Pawarendr Ramesr Mahiswarer, the
subordinate king of Siam, who died on the 29th of De
cember. 1865, was the legitimate son of the supreme king,
second of his dynasty, who reigned from 1809 to 1824.
His father had been second king to his grandfather, " grand
supreme " of Siam, and first of the reigning line. His
mother was " lawful first queen consort " ; and the late
first or major king, Somdetch-P'hra Paramendr Maha
Mongkut, was his elder full brother. Being alike legiti
mate offspring of the first queen, these two lads were
styled Somdetch Chovjfas, " Celestial Eoyal Princes " ; and
during the second and third reigns they were distinguished
by the titles of courtesy pertaining to their royal status
and relation, the elder as Chowfa Mongkut, the younger
as Chowfa Chudha-Mani : Mongkut signifying " Royal
Crown," and Chudha-Mani " Royal Hair-pin."
On the death of their father (in 1824), and the acces
sion, by intrigue, of their elder half-brother, the Chowfa
Mongkut entered the Buddhist priesthood ; but his broth
er, more ardent, inquisitive, and restless, took active
service with the king, in the military as well as in the
diplomatic department of government. He was appointed
Superintendent of Artillery and Malayan Infantry on the
one hand ; and on the other, Translator of English Docu
ments and Secretary for English Correspondence.
In a cautious and verbose sketch of his character and
services, written after his death by his jealous brother,
the priest-king, wherein he is by turns meanly disparaged
and damned with faint praise, we find this curious state
ment : —
" After that time (1821) he became acquainted with
certain parties of English and East Indian merchants,
who made their appearance or first commenced trading
on late of second reign, after the former trade with Siam
which had been stopped or postponed several years in
224 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
consequence of some misunderstanding before. He be
came acquainted with certain parts of English language
and literature, and certain parts of Hindoo or Bengali
language, as sufficient for some unimportant conversation
with English and Indian strangers who were visitors of
Siam, upon the latter part of the reign of his royal father ;
but his royal father did not know that he possessed such
knowledge of foreign language, which had been con
cealed to the native persons in republic affairs, whose
jealousy seemed to be strong against strangers, so he
was not employed in any terms with those strangers
foreign affairs," — that is, during the life of his father, at
whose death he was just sixteen years old.
Early in the third reign he was sent to Meeklong to
superintend the construction of important works of de
fence near the mouth of the Meeklong Kiver. He pushed
this work with vigor, and completed it in 1835. In 1842
he commanded successfully an expedition against the
Cochin-Chinese, and, in returning, brought with him to
Siam many families of refugees from the eastern coast.
Then he was commissioned by the king to reconstruct,
" after Western models," the ancient fortifications at Pak-
nam ; and having to this end engaged a corps of Eu
ropean engineers and artisans, he eagerly seized the ad
vantage the situation afforded him, by free and intelligent
intercourse with his foreign assistants, to master the Eng
lish language, — so that, at his death, he notably excelled
the first king in the facility with which he spoke, read,
and wrote it, — and to improve his acquaintance with the
Western sciences and arts of navigation, naval construc
tion and armament, coast and inland defence, engineering,
transportation, and telegraphy, the working and casting
of iron, etc.
On the 26th of May, 1851, twelve days after the coro
nation of his elder brother, the student and priest Maha
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 225
Mongkut, he was called by the unanimous voice of " the
king and council " to be Second King ; and throughout
his subordinate reign his sagacious and alert inquiry, his
quick apprehension, his energetic and liberal spirit of im
provement, engaged the admiration of foreigners ; whilst
his handsome person, his generous temper, his gallant
preference for the skilful and the brave, his enthusiasm
and princely profusion in sports and shows, endeared him
more and more to his people. Maha Mongkut — at no
time inclined to praise him beyond his deserts, and least
of all in the latter years of his life, imbittered to both by
mutual jealousy and distrust — wrote almost handsomely
of him under the pressure of this public opinion.
" He made everything new and beautiful, and of curi
ous appearance, and of a good style of architecture, and
much stronger than they had formerly been constructed
by his three predecessors, the second kings of the last
three reigns, for the space of time that he was second
king. He had introduced and collected many and many
things, being articles of great curiosity, and things useful
for various purposes of military acts and affairs, from
Europe and America, China, and other states, and placed
them in various departments and rooms or buildings suit
able for those articles, and placed officers for maintaining
and preserving the various things neatly and carefully.
He has constructed several buildings in European fashion
and Chinese fashion, and ornamented them with various
useful ornaments for his pleasure, and has constructed
two steamers in manner of men-of-war, and two steam-
yachts, and several rowing state-boats in Siamese and
Cochin-Chinese fashion, for his pleasure at sea and rivers
of Siam ; and caused several articles of gold and silver
being vessels and various wares and weapons to be made
up by the Siamese and Malayan goldsmiths, for employ
and dress of himself and his family, by his direction and
10* o
226 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
skilful contrivance and ability. He became celebrated
and spread out more and more to various regions of the
Siamese kingdom, adjacent States around, and far-famed
to foreign countries, even at far distance, as he became ac
quainted with many and many foreigners, who carne from
various quarters of the world where his name became
known to most as a very clever and bravest Prince of
Siam
" As he pleased mostly with firing of cannon and acts of
Marine power and seamen, which he has imitated to his
steamers which were made in manner of the man-of-war,
after he has seen various things curious and useful, and
learned Marine customs on board the foreign vessels of
war, his steamers conveyed him to sea, where he has en
joyed playing of firing in cannon very often
" He pleased very much in and was playful of almost
everything, some important and some unimportant, as
riding on Elephants and Horses and Ponies, racing of
them and racing of rowing boats, firing on birds and
beasts of prey, dancing and singing in various ways pleas
antly, and various curiosity of almost everything, and
music of every description, and in taming of dogs, mon
keys, &c., &c., that is to say briefly that he has tested
almost everything eatable except entirely testing of Opium
and play.
" Also he has visited regions of Northeastern Province
of Sarapury and Gorath very often for enjoyment of
pleasant riding on Elephants and Horses, at forests in
chasing animals of prey, fowling, and playing music and
singing with Laos people of that region and obtaining
young wives from there."
What follows is not more curious as to its form of ex
pression than suspicious as to its meaning and motive.
To all who know with what pusillanimity at times the
First King shrank from the approach of Christian foreign-
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 227
ers, — especially the French priests, — with what servility
in his moody way he courted their favor, it will appear
of very doubtful sincerity. To those who are familiar
with the circumstances under which it was written, and
to whom the attitude of jealous reserve that the brothers
occupied toward each other at the time of the Second
King's death was no secret, it may seem (even after due
allowance is made for the prejudices or the obligations of
the priest) to cover an insidious, though scarcely adroit,
design to undermine the honorable reputation the younger
enjoyed among the missionaries, and the cordial friend
ship with which he had been regarded by several of the
purest of them. Certainly it is suspiciously " of a piece "
with other passages, quoted further on, in which the
king's purpose to disparage the merits of his brother, and
damage the influence of his name abroad, is sufficiently
transparent. In this connection the reader may derive
a ray of light from the fact that on the birth of the Sec
ond King's first son, an American missionary, who was
on terms of intimacy with the father, named the child
" George Washington " ; and that child, the Prince George
Washington Krom Mu'n Pawarwijagan, is the present
Second King of Siam. But to Maha Mongkut, and his
" art of putting things " : —
"He was rumored to be baptized or near to be bap
tized in Christianity, but the fact it is false. He was a
Buddhist, but his faith and belief changed very often in
favor of various sects of Buddhism by the association of
his wives and various families and of persons who were
believers in various sects of the established religion of the
Siamese and Laos, Peguan and Burmese countries. Why
should he become a Christian ? when his pleasures con
sisted in polygamy and enjoyment, and with young
women who were practised in pleasant dancing and sing
ing, and who could not be easily given up at any time.
228 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
He was very desirous of having his sons to be English
scholars and to be learned the art of speaking, reading
and writing in English well like himself, but he said he
cannot allow his sons to enter the Christian Missionary-
School, as he feared his descendants might be induced to
the Christianity in which he did not please to believe."
Pawarendr Ramesr had ever been the favorite and dar
ling of his mother, and it was in his infancy that the
seeds of that ignoble jealous}^ were sown between the
royal broth eis, which flourished so rankly and bore such
noxious fruit in their manhood. From his tenderest
years the younger prince was remarkable for his personal
beauty and his bright intelligence, and before his thir
teenth birthday had already learned all that his several
masters could teach him. From an old priest, named
P'hra Naitt, I gathered many pleasant anecdotes of his
childhood.
For example, he related with peculiar pride how the
young prince, then but twelve years old, being borne one
day in state through the eastern gate of the city to visit
his mother's lotos-gardens, observed an old man, half
blind, resting by the roadside. Commanding his bearers
to halt, he alighted from his sedan and kindly accosted
the poor creature. Finding him destitute and helpless, a
stranger and a wayfarer in the land, he caused him to be
seated in his own sedan, and borne to the gardens, while
he followed on foot. Here he had the old man bathed,
clad in fresh linen, and entertained with a substantial
meal ; and afterward he took his astonished client into
his service, as keeper of his cattle.
Later in life the generous and romantic prince diverted
himself with the adventurous beneficence of Haroun al
Ease-hid, visiting the poor in disguise, listening to the
recital of their sufferings and wrongs, and relieving them
with ready largesse of charity and justice ; and nothing
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 229
so pleased and flattered him as to be called, in his as
sumed name of Nak Pratt, " the wise," to take part in
their sports and fetes. The affectionate enthusiasm with
which the venerable poonghee remembered his royal pupil
was inspiring ; and to see his eyes sparkle and his face
glow with sympathetic triumph, as he described the lad's
exploits of strength or skill in riding, fencing, boxing,
was a fine sight. But it was with saddened look and
tone that he whispered to me, that, at the prince's birth,
the astrologer who cast his horoscope had foretold for him
an unnatural death. This, he said, was the secret of the
watchful devotion and imprudent partiality his mother
had always manifested for him.
For such a prince to come into even the empty name
of power was to become subject to the evil eye of his
fraternal lord and rival, for whose favor officious friends
and superserviceable lackeys contended in scandalous and
treacherous spyings of the Second King's every action.
Yet, meanly beset as he was, he contrived to find means
and opportunity to enlarge his understanding and multi
ply his attainments ; and in the end his proficiency in
languages, European and Oriental, became as remarkable
as it was laudable. It was by Mr. Hunter, secretary to
the prime minister, that he was introduced to the study
of the English language and literature, and by this gen
tleman's intelligent aid he procured the text-books which
constituted the foundation of his educational course.
In person he was handsome, for a Siamese ; of medium
stature, compact and symmetrical figure, and rather dark
complexion. His conversation and deportment denoted
the cultivation, delicacy, and graceful poise of an accom
plished gentleman ; and he delivered his English with a
correctness and fluency very noticeably free from the
peculiar spasmodic effort that marked his royal brother's
exploits in the language of Shakespeare.
230 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
In his palace, which he had rebuilt after the model
of an English nobleman's residence, he led the life
of a healthy, practical, and systematic student. His li
brary, more judiciously selected than that of his brother,
abounded in works of science, embracing the latest dis
coveries. Here he passed many hours, cultivating a
sound acquaintance with the results of investigation and
experiment in the Western world. His partiality for
English literature in all its branches was extreme. The
freshest publications of London found their way to his
tables, and he heartily enjoyed the creations of Dickens.
Eor robust and exhilarating enjoyment, however, he had
recourse to hunting expeditions, and martial exercises in
the drilling of his private troops. Punctually at day
break every morning he appeared on the parade-ground,
and proceeded to review his little army with scrupulous
precision, according to European tactics ; after which he
led his well-trained files to their barracks within the
palace walls, where the soldiers exchanged their uniform
for a working-dress. Then he marched them to the
armory, where muskets, bayonets, and sabres were brought
out and severely scoured. That done, the men were dis
missed till the morrow.
Among his courtiers were several gentlemen of Siam
and Laos, who had acquired such a smattering of English
as qualified them to assist the prince in his scientific di
versions. Opposite the armory stood a pretty little cot
tage, quite English-looking, lighted with glass windows,
and equipped with European furniture. Over the en
trance to this quaint tenement hung a painted sign, in
triumphant English, "WATCHES AND CLOCKS MADE AND
REPAIRED HERE " ; and hither came frequently the Second
King and his favorites, to pursue assiduously their harm
less occupation of horlogerie. Sometimes this eccentric
entertainment was diversified with music, in which his
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 231
Majesty took a leading part, playing with taste and skill
on the flute, and several instruments of the Laos people.
Such a prince should have been happy, in the inno
cence of his pastimes and the dignity of his pursuits.
But the same accident of birth and station to which he
owed his privileges and his opportunities imposed its pe
culiar disabilities and hindrances. His troubles were the
troubles of a second king, who chanced to be also an
ardent and aspiring man. Weary with disappointment,
disheartened in his honorable longing for just apprecia
tion, vexed with the caprice and suspicions of his elder
brother ; oppressed by the ever-present tyranny of the
thought — so hard for such a man to bear — that the
woman he loved best in the land he was inexorably for
bidden to marry, because, being a princess of the first
rank, she might be offered and accepted to grace the
harem of his brother ; a mere prisoner of state, watched
by the baleful eye of jealousy, and traduced by the venal
tongues of courtiers ; dwelling in a torment of uncertain
ty as to the fate to which his brother's explosive temper
and irresponsible power might devote him, hoping for no
repose or safety but in his funeral-urn, — he began to
grow hard and defiant, and that which, in the native free
dom of his soul, should have been his noble steadfastness
degenerated into ignoble obstinacy.
Among the innumerable mean torments with which his
pride was persecuted was the continual presence of a
certain doctor, who, by the king's command, attended him
at all times and places, compelling him to use remedies
that were most distasteful to him.
He was gallantly kind and courteous toward wTomen ;
no act of cruelty to any woman was ever attributed to
him. His children he ruled wisely, though somewhat
sternly, rendering his occasional tenderness and indul
gence so much the more precious and delightful to them.
232 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
Never had Siam a more popular prince. He was the
embodiment of the most hopeful qualities, moral and in
tellectual, of his nation ; especially was he the exponent
and promise of its most progressive tendencies ; and his
people regarded him with love and reverence, as their
trusty stay and support. His talents as a statesman com
manded the unqualified admiration of foreigners ; and it
was simply the jealous and tyrannical temper of Maha
Mongkut that forced him to retire from all participation
in the affairs of government.
At last the mutual reserve and distrust of the royal
brothers broke out in open quarrel, provoked by the re
fusal of the First King to permit the Second to borrow
from the royal treasury a considerable sum of money. On
the day after his order was dishonored, the prince set out
with his congenial and confidential courtiers on a hunting
expedition to the Laos province of Chiengmai, scornfully
threatening to entrap one of the royal white elephants,
and sell it to his Supreme Majesty for the sum he would
not loan.
At Chiengmai he was regally entertained by the tribu
tary prince of that province ; and no sooner was his griev
ance known, than the money he required was laid at his
feet. Too manly to accept the entire sum, he borrowed
but a portion of it ; and instead of taking it out of the
country, decided to sojourn there for a time, that lie might
spend it to the advantage of the people. To this end he
selected a lovely spot in the vicinity of Chiengmai, called
Saraburee, itself a city of some consideration, where bamboo
houses line the banks of a beautiful river, that traverses
teak forests alive with large game. On an elevation near
at hand the Second King erected a palace substantially
fortified, which he named Ban Sitha (the Home of the
Goddess Sitha), and caused a canal to be cut to the east
ern slope.
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 233
Here lie indulged freely, and on an imposing scale, in
his favorite pastime of hunting, and privately took to wife
the daughter of the king of Chiengmai, the Princess Su-
nartha Yismita. And here he was happy, only returning
to Bangkok when called thither by affairs of state, or to
take the semi-annual oath of allegiance.
Among the prince's concubines at this time was a
woman named Kliep, envious, intriguing, and ambitious,
who by consummate arts had obtained control of his Maj
esty's cmtiine, — an appointment of peculiar importance
and trust in the household of an Oriental prince. Find
ing that by no feminine devices could she procure the
influence she coveted over her master's mind and affec
tions, she finally had recourse to an old and infamous sor
cerer, styled Khoon Hate-nab (" Lord of Future Events "),
an adept of the black art much consulted by women of
rank from all parts of the country ; and he, in considera
tion of an extraordinary fee, prepared for her a variety of
charms, incantations, philters, to be administered to the
prince, in whose food daily, for years, she mixed the abom
inable nostrums. The poison did its work slowly but
surely, and his sturdy life was gradually undermined.
His strength quite gone, and his spirit broken, his despon
dency became so profound that he lost all taste for the
occupations and diversions that had once delighted him,
and sought relief in restless changing from one palace to
another, and in consulting every physician he could find.
It was during a visit to his favorite residence at Sara-
buree that the signs of approaching dissolution appeared,
and the king's physician, fearing he might die there, took
hurried steps to remove him to his palace at Bangkok. He
was bound in a sedan, and lowered from his high chamber
in the castle into his barge on the canal at the foot of the
cliff; and so, with all his household in train, transported
to the palace of Kroin Hluang Wongse, physician to the
234 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
king, and one of his half-brothers. Now miserably un
nerved, the prince, once so patient, brave, and proud,
threw his arms round his kinsman's neck, and, weeping
bitterly, implored him to save him. But he was presently
removed to his own palace, and laid in a chamber looking
to the east.
That night the prince expressed a wish to see his royal
brother. The king hastened to his bedside in company
with his Excellency Chow Phya Sri Sury-wongse, the
Kralahome, or prime minister; and then and there a
silent and solemn reconciliation took place. No words
were spoken ; only the brothers embraced each other, and
the elder wept bitterly. But from the facts brought to
light in that impressive meeting and parting, it was made
plain that the Second King died by slow poison, adminis
tered by the woman Kliep, — plain to all but the Second
King himself, who died in ignorance of the means by
which the tragic prophecy of his horoscope had been
made good.
In the very full account of his brother's death which
Maha Mongkut thought it necessary to write, he was
careful to conceal from the public the true cause of the
calamity, fearing the foreign populace, and, most of all,
the Laotians and Peguans, who were devoted to the prince,
and might attach suspicion to himself, on the ground
of his notorious jealousy of the Second King. The
royal physicians and the Supreme Council were sworn to
secrecy ; and the woman Kliep, and her accomplice Khoon
Hate-nah, together with nine female slaves, were tortured
and publicly paraded through the environs of Bangkok,
though their crime was never openly named. Afterward
they were thrown into an open boat, towed out on the Gulf
of Siam, and there abandoned to the mercy of winds and
waves, or death by starvation. Among the women of the
palace the current report was, that celestial avengers had
THE SUBORDINATE KING. 235
slain the murderous crew with arrows of lightning and
spears of fire.
In his Majesty's account of the last days of his royal
brother, we have the characteristic queerness of his Eng
lish, and a scarcely less characteristic passage of Peck-
sniffian cant : —
" The lamentable patient Second King 'ascertained him
self that his approaching death was inevitable ; it was
great misfortune to him and his family indeed. His eld
est son Prince George * Krom Mu'n Pawarwijagan, aged
27 years on that time, became very sick of painful rheu
matism by which he has his body almost steady on his
seat and bed, immovable to and fro, himself, since the
month of October, 1865, when his father was absent from
Bangkok, being at Ban Sitha as aforesaid. When his
royal father returned from Ban Sitha he arrived at his
palace at Bangkok on 6th December. He can only being
lifted by two or three men and placed in the presence of
his father who was very ill, but the eldest son forenamed
prince was little better, so before death of his father as he
can be raised to be stood by two men and can cribble
slowly on even or level surface, by securing and support
ing of two men on both sides.
" When his father became worse and approaching the
point of death, upon that time his father can see him
scarcely ; wherefore the Second King, on his being worse,
has said to his eldest and second daughters, the half sis
ters of the eldest son, distempered so as he cannot be in
the presence of his father without difficulty, that he (the
Second King) forenamed on that time was hopeless and
that he could not live more than a few days. He did not
wish to do his last will regarding his family and property,
particularly as he was strengthless to speak much, and
consider anything deeply and accurately : he beg'd to
* George Washington.
236 THE SUBORDINATE KING.
entreat all his sons, daughters, and wives that none
should be sorry for his death, which comes by natural
course, and should not fear for misery of difficulty after
his demise. All should throw themselves under their
faithful and affectionate uncle, the Supreme King of Siam,
for protection, in whom he had heartfelt confidence that
he will do well to his family after his death, as such
the action or good protection to several families of other
princes and princesses in the royalty, who deceased be
fore. He beg'd only to recommend his sons and daugh
ters, that they should be always honest and faithful to his
elder full brother, the Supreme King of Siam, by the same
affection as to himself, and that they should have much
more affection and respect toward Paternal relative persons
in royalty, than toward their maternal relative persons,
who are not royal descendants of his ancestors
" On the 29th December 1865, in the afternoon, the
Second King invited His Majesty the Supreme King, his
elder full brother, and his Excellency Chow Phya Sri
Sury-wongse Samulia P'hra-Kralahome, the Prime Minis
ter, who is the principal head of the Government and
royal cousin, to seat themselves near to his side on his
bedstead where he lay, and other principals of royalty
and nobility, to seat themselves in that room where he
was lying, that they might be able to ascertain his speech
by hearing. Then he delivered his family and followers
and the whole of his property to His Majesty and His
Excellency for protection and good decision, according to
consequences which they would well observe."
Not a word of that royal reconcilement, of that re
morseful passion of tears, of that mute mystery of human
ity, the secret spell of a burdened mother's love working
too late in the hearts of her headstrong boys ! Not a
word of that crowning embrace, which made the subordi
nate king supreme, by the grace of dying and forgiving !
XXVI.
THE SUPEEME KING: HIS CHAEACTEE AND
ADMINISTRATION.
OF Somdetcli P'hra Paramendr Maha ]\Iongkut, late
Supreme King of Siam, it may safely be said (for all
his capricious provocations of temper and his snappish
greed of power) that he was, in the best sense of the
epithet, the most remarkable of the Oriental princes of
the present century, — unquestionably the most progres
sive of all the supreme rulers of Siam, of whom the na
tive historians enumerate not less than forty, reckoning
from the founding of the ancient capital (Ayudia or
Ayuo-deva, " the abode of gods ") in A. D. 1350.
He was the legitimate son of the king P'hra Chow-P'hra
Pooti-lootlah, commonly known as Phen-den-Klang ; and
his mother, daughter of the youngest sister of the King
Somdetcli P'hra Bouromah Eajah P'hra Pooti Yout Fah,
was one of the most admired princesses of her time, and
is described as equally beautiful and virtuous. She de
voted herself assiduously to the education of her sons, of
whom the second, the subject of these notes, was born in
1804 ; and the youngest, her best beloved, was the late
Second King of Siam.
One of the first public acts of the King P'hra Pooti-
lootlah was to elevate to the highest honors of the state
his eldest son (the Chowfa Mongkut), and proclaim him
heir-apparent to the throne. He then selected twelve
noblemen, distinguished for their attainments, prudence,
THE SUPREME KING :
and virtue, — most conspicuous among them the venera
ble but energetic Duke Soindetch Ong Yai, — to be tutors
and guardians to the lad. By these he was carefully
taught in all the learning of his time ; Sanskrit and Pali
formed his chief study, and from the first he aspired to
proficiency in Latin and English, for the pursuit of which
he soon found opportunities among the missionaries. His
translations from the Sanskrit, Pali, and Magadthi, mark
him as an authority among Oriental linguists ; and his
knowledge of English, though never perfect, became at
least extensive and varied ; so that he could correspond,
with credit to himself, with Englishmen of distinction,
such as the Earl of Clarendon and Lords Stanley and
Russell.
In his eighteenth year he married a noble lady, de
scended from the Phya Tak Sinn, who bore him two
sons.
Two years later the throne became vacant by the death
of his father ; but (as the reader has already learned) his
elder half-brother, who, through the intrigues of his
mother, had secured a footing in the favor of the Sena-
bawdee, was inducted by that " Royal Council " into
power. Unequal to the exploit of unseating the usurper,
and fearing his unscrupulous jealousy, the Chowfa Mong-
kut took refuge in a monastery, and entered the priest
hood, leaving his wife and two sons to mourn him as
one dead to them. In this self-imposed celibacy he lived
throughout the long reign of his half-brother, which lasted
twenty-seven years.
In the calm retreat of his Buddhist cloister the contem
plative tastes of the royal scholar found fresh entertain
ment, his intellectual aspirations a new incitement.
He labored with enthusiasm for the diffusion of religion
arid enlightenment, and, above all, to promote a higher
appreciation of the teachings of Buddha,, to whose doc-
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 239
trines lie devoted himself with exemplary zeal throughout
his sacerdotal career. From the Buddhist scriptures he
compiled with reverent care an impressive liturgy for his
own use. His private charities amounted annually to ten
thousand ticals. All the fortune he accumulated, from
the time of his quitting the court until his return to it to
accept the diadem offered by the Senabawdee, he ex
pended either in charitable distributions or in the pur
chase of books, sacred manuscripts, and relics for his
monastery.*
It was during his retirement that he wrote that nota
ble treatise in defence of the divinity of the revelations
of Buddha, in which he essays to prove that it was the
single aim of the great reformer to deliver man from all
selfish and carnal passions, and in which he uses these
words : " These are the only obstacles in the search for
Truth. The most solid wisdom is to know this, and to
apply one's self to the conquest of one's self. This it
is to become the enlightened, — the Buddha ! " And he
concludes with the remark of Asoka, the Indian king :
" That which has been delivered unto us by Buddha, that
alone is well said, and worthy of our soul's profoundest
homage."
In the pursuit of his appointed ends Maha Mongkut
was active and pertinacious ; no labors wearied him nor
pains deterred him. Before the arrival of the Protestant
missionaries, in 1820, he had acquired some knowledge
of Latin and the sciences from the Jesuits ; but when the
Protestants came he manifested a positive preference for
their methods of instruction, inviting one or another of
* "On the third reign he [himself] served his eldest royal half-brother,
by superintending the construction and revision of royal sacred books in
royal libraries : so he was appointed the principal superintendent of cler
gymen's acts and works of Buddhist religion, and selector of religious
learned wise men in the country, during the third reign." — From the pen
of MaltM Mongkut.
240 THE SUPREME KING:
them daily to his temple, to aid him in the study of Eng
lish. Finally he placed himself under the permanent
tutorship of the Eev. Mr. Caswell, an American mission
ary ; and, in order to encourage his preceptor to visit him
frequently, he fitted up a convenient resting-place for him
on the route to the temple, where that excellent man
might teach the poorer people who gathered to hear him.
Under Mr. Caswell he made extraordinary progress in ad
vanced and liberal ideas of government, commerce, even
religion. He never hesitated to express his respect for
the fundamental principles of Christianity ; but once,
when pressed too closely by his reverend moonshee with
what he regarded as the more pretentious and apocryphal
portions of the Bible, he checked that gentleman's ad
vance with the remark that has ever been remembered
against him, " / hate the Bible mostly I "
As High-Priest of Siam — the mystic and potential
office to which he was in the end exalted — he became
the head of a new school, professing strictly the pure
philosophy inculcated by Buddha : " the law of Compen
sation, of Many Births, and of final Niphan," * — but not
Nihilism, as the word and the idea are commonly defined.
It is only to the idea of God as an ever-active Creator that
the new school of Buddhists is opposed, — not to the
Deity as a primal source, from whose thought and pleas
ure sprang all forms of matter ; nor can they be brought
to admit the need of miraculous intervention in the order
of nature.
In this connection, it may not be out of place to men
tion a remark that the king (still speaking as a high-
priest, having authority) once made to me, on the subject
of the miracles recorded in the Bible : —
" You say that marriage is a holy institution ; and I
believe it is esteemed a sacrament by one of the principal
* Attainment of beatitude.
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 241
branches of your sect. It is, of all the laws of the uni
verse, the most wise and incontestable, pervading all
forms of animal and vegetable life. Yet your God (mean
ing the Christian's God) has stigmatized it as unholy, in
that he would not permit his Son to be born in the or
dinary way ; but must needs perform a miracle in order
to give birth to one divinely inspired. Buddha was di
vinely inspired, but he was only man. Thus it seems to
me he is the greater of the two, because out of his own
heart he studied humanity, which is but another form of
divinity ; and, the carnal mind being by this contempla
tion subdued, he became the Divinely Enlightened"
When his teacher had begun to entertain hopes that
lie would one day become a Christian, he came out openly
against the idea, declaring that he entertained no thought
of such a change. He admonished the missionaries not
to deceive themselves, saying : " You must not imagine
that any of my party will ever become Christians. We
cannot embrace what we consider a foolish religion."
In the beginning of the year 1851 his supreme Majesty,
Prabat Somdetch P'hra Nang Klou, fell ill, and gradually
declined until the 3d of April, when he expired, and the
throne was again vacant. The dying sovereign, forgetting
or disregarding his promise to his half-brother, the true
heir, had urged with all his influence that the succession
should fall to his eldest son ; but in the assembly of the
Senabawdee, Somdetch Ong Yai (father of the present
prime minister of Siam), supported by Somdetch Ong
Xoi, vehemently declared himself in favor of the high-
priest Chowfa Mongkut.
This struck terror to the "illegitimates," and mainly
availed to quell the rising storm of partisan conflict.
Moreover, Ong Yai had taken the precaution to surround
the persons of the princes with a formidable guard, and
to distribute an overwhelming force of militia in all quar-
11 p
242 THE SUPREME KING :
ters of the city, ready for instant action at a signal from
him.
Thus the two royal brothers, with views more liberal,
as to religion, education, foreign trade, and intercourse,
than the most enlightened of their predecessors had en
tertained, were firmly seated on the throne as " first " and
" second " kings ; and every citizen, native or foreign, be
gan to look with confidence for the dawn of better times.
Nor did the newly crowned sovereign forget his friends
and teachers, the American missionaries. He sent for
them, and thanked them cordially for all that they had
taught him, assuring them that it was his earnest desire
to administer his government after the model of the
limited monarchy of England ; and to introduce schools,
where the Siamese youth might be well taught in the
English language and literature and the sciences of Eu
rope.*
There can be no just doubt that, at the time, it was his
sincere purpose to carry these generous impulses into
practical effect ; for certainly he was, in every moral and
intellectual respect, nobly superior to his predecessor, and
to his dying hour he was conspicuous for his attachment to
a sound philosophy and the purest maxims of Buddha.
Yet we find in him a deplorable example of the degrading-
influence on the human mind of the greed of possessions
and power, and of the infelicities that attend it ; for
* In this connection the Rev. Messrs. Bradley, Caswell, House, Matoon,
and Dean are entitled to special mention. To their united influence Siam
unquestionably owes much, if not all, of her present advancement and
prosperity. Nor would I be thought to detract from the high praise that
is due to their fellow-laborers in the cause of Christianity, the Roman
Catholic missionaries, who are, and ever have been, indefatigable in their
exertions for the good of the country. Especially will the name of the
excellent bishop, Monseigneur Pallegoix, be held in honor and affec
tion by people of all creeds and tongues in Siam, as that of a pure and
devoted follower of our common Redeemer.
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 24o
though he promptly set about the reforming of abuses in
the several departments of his government, and invited
the ladies of the American mission to teach in his
new harem, nevertheless he soon began to indulge his
avaricious and sensual propensities, and cast a jealous eye
upon the influence of the prime minister, the son of his
stanch old friend/ the Duke Ong Yai, to whom he owed
almost the crown itself, and of his younger brother, the
Second King, and of the neighboring princes of Chienginai
and Cochin China. He presently offended those who, by
their resolute display of loyalty in his hour of peril, had
seated him safely on the throne of his ancestors.
From this time he was continually exposed to disap
pointment, mortification, slights, from abroad, and con
spiracy at home. Had it not been for the steadfast ad
herence of the Second King and the prime minister, the
sceptre would have been wrested from his grasp and be
stowed upon his more popular brother.
Yet, notwithstanding all this, he appeared, to those who
observed him only on the public stage of affairs, to rule with
wisdom, to consult the welfare of his subjects, to be con
cerned for the integrity of justice and the purity of man
ners and conversation in his own court, and careful, by a
prudent administration, to confirm his power at home and
his prestige abroad. Considered apart from his domestic
relations, he was, in many respects, an able and virtuous
ruler. His foreign policy was liberal ; he extended tolera
tion to all religious sects ; he expended a generous portion
of his revenues in public improvements, — monasteries,
temples, bazaars, canals, bridges, arose at his bidding on
every side ; and though he fell short of his early prom
ise, he did much to improve the condition of his subjects.
For example, at the instance of her Britannic Majes
ty's Consul, the Honorable Thomas George Knox, he re
moved the heavy boat-tax that had so oppressed the
244 THE SUPREME KING :
poorer masses of the Siamese, and constructed good roads,
and improved the international chambers of judicature.
But as husband and kinsman his character assumes a
most revolting aspect. Envious, revengeful, subtle, he
was as fickle and petulant as he was suspicious and cruel.
His brother, even the offspring of his brother, became to
him objects of jealousy, if not of hatred. Their friends
must, lie thought, be his enemies, and applause bestowed
upon them was odious to his soul. There were many
horrid tragedies in his harem in which he enacted the
part of a barbarian and a despot. Plainly, his conduct as
the head of a great family to whom his will was a law of
terror reflects abiding disgrace upon his name. Yet it
had this redeeming feature, that he tenderly loved those
of his children wrhose mothers had been agreeable to him.
He never snubbed or slighted them ; and for the little
princess, Chow Fa-ying, whose mother had been to him a
most gentle and devoted wife, his affection was very
strong and enduring.
But to turn from the contemplation of his private
traits, so contradictory and offensive, to the consideration
of his public acts, so liberal and beneficent. Several com
mercial treaties of the first importance were concluded
with foreign powers during his reign. In the first place,
the Siamese government voluntarily reduced the measure
ment duties on foreign shipping from nineteen hundred
to one thousand ticals per fathom of ship's beam. This
was a brave stride in the direction of a sound commercial
policy, arid an earnest of greater inducements to enter
prising traders from abroad. In 1855 a new treaty of
commerce was negotiated with his Majesty's government
by H. B. M.'s plenipotentiary, Sir John Bowring, which
proved of very positive advantage to both parties. On
the 29th of May, 1856, a new treaty, substantially like
that with Great Britain, was procured by Townsend
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 245
Harris, Esq., representing the United States ; and later in
the same year still another, in favor of France, through
H. I. M.'s Envoy, M. Montigny.
Before that time Portugal had been the only foreign
government having a consul residing at Bangkok. Now
the way was opened to admit a resident consul of each
of the treaty powers ; and shortly millions of dollars
flowed into Siam annually by channels through which
but a few tens of thousands had been drawn before.
Foreign traders and merchants flocked to Bangkok and
established rice-mills, factories for the production of sugar
and oil, and warehouses for the importation of European
fabrics. They found a ready market for their wares, and
an aspect of thrift and comfort began to enliven the once
neglected and cheerless land.
A new and superb palace was erected, after the model
of Windsor Castle, together with numerous royal resi
dences in different parts of the country. The nobility
began to emulate the activity and munificence of their
sovereign, and to compete with, each other in the gran
deur of their dwellings and the splendor of their corteges.
So prosperous did the country become under the be
nign influence of foreign trade and civilization, that other
treaties were speedily concluded with almost every nation
under the sun, and his Majesty found it necessary to ac
credit Sir John Bowring as plenipotentiary for Siam
abroad.
Early in this reign the appointment of harbor-master
at Bangkok was conferred upon an English gentleman,
who proved so efficient in his functions that he was dis
tinguished with the fifth title of a Siamese noble. Next
came a French commander and a French band-master for
the royal troops. Then a custom-house was established,
and a " live Yankee " installed at the head of it, who was
also glorified with a title of honor. Finally a police force
246 THE SUP11EME KING :
was organized, composed of trusty Malays hired from
Singapore, and commanded by one of the most energetic
Englishmen to be found in the East, — a measure which
has done more than all others to promote a comfortable
sense of " law and order " throughout the city and out
skirts of Bangkok. It is to be remembered, however,
in justice to the British Consul-General in Siam, Mr.
Thomas George Knox, that the sure though silent in
fluence was his, whereby the minds of the king and the
prime minister were led to appreciate the benefits that
must accrue from these foreign innovations.
The privilege of constructing, on liberal terms, a line
of telegraph through Maulmain to Singapore, with a
branch to Bangkok, has been granted to the Singapore
Telegraph Company ; and finally a sanitarium has been
erected on the coast at Anghin, for the benefit of native
and foreign residents needing the irivigoration of sea-air.*
During his retirement in the monastery the king had a
stroke of paralysis, from which he perfectly recovered ;
but it left its mark on his face, in the form of a peculiar
falling of the under lip on the right side. In person he
was of middle stature, slightly built, of regular features
and fair complexion. In early life he lost most of his
teeth, but lie had had them replaced with a set made from
sapan-wood, — a secret that he kept very sensitively to
the day of his death.
* " His Excellency Chow Phya Bhibakrwongs Maha Kosa Dhipude,
the P'hraklang, Minister for Foreign Affairs, has built a sanitarium at
Anghin for the benefit of the public. It is for benefit of the Siamese,
Europeans, or Americans, to go and occupy, when unwell, to restore their
health. All are cordially invited to go there for a suitable length of
time and be happy ; but are requested not to remain month after month
and year after year, and regard it as a place without an owner. To re
gard it in this way cannot be allowed, for it is public property, and others
should go and stop there also." — Advertisement, Siam Monitor, August
29, 1868.
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 247
Capable at times of the noblest impulses, he was equal
ly capable of the basest actions. Extremely accessible to
praise, he indiscriminately entertained every form of flat
tery ; but his fickleness was such that no courtier could
cajole him long. Among his favorite women was the
beautiful Princess Tongoo Soopia, sister to the unfortunate
Sultan Mahmoud, ex-rajah of Pahang. Falling fiercely
in love with her on her presentation at his court, he pro
cured her for his harem against her will, and as a hostage
for the good faith of her brother ; but as she, being Mo
hammedan, ever maintained toward him a deportment of
tranquil indifference, he soon tired of her, and finally dis
missed her to a wretched life of obsoleteness and neglect
within the palace walls.
The only woman who ever managed him with acknowl
edged success was Khoon Chom Piem : hardly pretty,
but well formed, and of versatile tact, totally uneducated,
of barely respectable birth, — being Chinese on her
father's side, — yet withal endowed with a nice intuitive
appreciation of character. Once conscious of her grow
ing influence over the king, she contrived to foster and
exercise it for years, with but a slight rebuff now and
then. Being modest to a fault, even at times obnoxious
to the imputation of prudishness, she habitually feigned
excuses for non-attendance in his Majesty's chambers,—
such as delicate health, the nursing of her children,
mourning for the death of this or that relative, — and
voluntarily visited him only at rare intervals. In the
course of six years she amassed considerable treasure,
procured good places at court for members of her family,
and was the msans of bringing many Chinamen to the no
tice of the king. At the same time she lived in continual
fear, was warily humble arid conciliating toward her rival
sisters, who pitied rather than envied her, and retained in
her pay most of the female executive force in the palace.
248 THE SUPREME KING :
111 his daily habits his Majesty was remarkably indus
trious and frugal. His devotion to the study of astron
omy never abated, and he calculated with respectable
accuracy the great solar eclipse of August, 1868.
The French government having sent a special commis
sion, under command of the Baron Hugon le Tourneur,
to observe the eclipse in Siam, the king erected, at a place
called Hua Wdnn ("The Whale's Head"), a commodious
observatory, besides numerous pavilions varying in size
and magnificence, for his Majesty and retinue, the French
commission, the Governor of Singapore (Colonel Ord) and
suite, who had been invited to Bangkok by the king, and
for ministers and nobles of Siam. Provision \vas made,
at the cost of government, for the regal entertainment,
in a town of booths and tabernacles, of the vast concourse
of natives and Europeans who followed his Majesty from
the capital to witness the sublime phenomenon; and a
herd of fifty noble elephants were brought from the an
cient city of Ayudia for service and display.
The prospect becoming dubious and gloomy just at
the time of first contact (ten o'clock), the prime minister
archly invited the foreigners who believed in an overruling
Providence to pray to him " that he may be pleased to
disperse the clouds long enough to afford us a good view of
the grandest of eclipses." Presently the clouds were par
tially withdrawn from the sun, and his Majesty observing
that one twentieth of the disk was obscured, announced
the fact to his own people by firing a cannon ; and imme
diately pipes screamed and trumpets blared in the royal
pavilion, — a tribute of reverence to the traditional fable
about the Angel Eahoo swallowing the sun. Both the
king and prime minister, scorning the restraints of dignity,
were fairly boisterous in their demonstrations of triumph
and delight ; the latter skipping from point to point to
squint through his long telescope. At the instant of
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 249
absolute totality, when the very last ray of the sun had
become extinct, his Excellency shouted, " Hurrah, hur
rah, hurrah ! " and scientifically disgraced himself. Leav
ing his spyglass swinging, he ran through the gateway of
his pavilion, and cried to his prostrate wives, " Hence
forth will you not believe the foreigners ? "
But that other Excellency, Chow Phya Bhudharabhay,
Minister for Northern Siam, more orthodox, sat in dum-
foundered faith, and gaped at the awful deglutition of the
Angel liahoo.
The government expended not less than a hundred
thousand dollars on this scientific expedition, and a dele
gation from the foreign community of Bangkok approached
his Majesty with an address of thanks for his indiscrimi
nate hospitality.
But the extraordinary excitement, and exposure to the
noxious atmosphere of the jungle, proved inimical to the
constitution of the king. On his return to Bangkok he
complained of general weariness and prostration, which
was the prelude to fever. Foreign physicians were con
sulted, but at no stage of the case was any European
treatment employed. He rapidly grew worse, and was
soon past saving. On the day before his death he called
to his bedside his nearest relatives, and parted among
them such of his personal effects as were most prized by
him, saying, " T have no more need of these things. I
must give up iny life also." Buddhist priests were con
stant in attendance, and he seemed to derive much corn-
fort from their prayers and exhortations. In the evening-
lie wrote with his own hand a tender farewell to the
mothers of his many children, — eighty-one in number.
On the morning of his last day (October 1, 1868) he
dictated in the Pali language a farewell address to the
Buddhist priesthood, the spirit of which was admirable, and
clearly manifested the faith of the dying man in the doc-
11*
THE SUPREME KING :
trines of the Reformer ; for he hesitated not to say :
" Farewell, ye faithful followers of Buddha, to whom
death is nothing, even as all earthly existence is vain, all
things mutable, and death inevitable. Presently I shall
myself submit to that stern necessity. Farewell! for I
go only a little before you."
Feeling sure that he must die before midnight, he sum
moned his half-brother, H. R H. Krom Hluang Wongse,
his Excellency the prime minister, Chow Phya Kra-
lahome, and others, and solemnly imposed upon them
the care of his eldest son, the Chowfa Chulalonkorn, and
of his kingdom ; at the same time expressing his last
earthly wish, that the Senabawdee, in electing his succes
sor, would give their voices for one who should conciliate
all parties, that the country might not be distracted by
dissensions on that question. He then told them he was
about to finish his course, and implored them not to give
way to grief, " nor to any sudden surprise," that he should
leave them thus ; " 't is an event that must befall all
creatures that come into this world, and may not be
avoided." Then turning his gaze upon a small image of
his adored teacher, he seemed for some time absorbed in
awful contemplation. " Such is life ! " Those were actu
ally the last words of this most remarkable Buddhist king.
He died like a philosopher, calmly and sententiously so
liloquizing on death and its inevitability. At the final
moment, no one being near save his adopted son, Phya
Buroot, he raised his hands before his face, as in his ac
customed posture of devotion ; then suddenly his head
dropped backward, and he was gone.
That very night, without disorder or debate, the Sena
bawdee elected his eldest son, Somdetch Chowfa Chula-
lonkorri, to succeed him ; and the Prince George Wash
ington, eldest son of the late Second King, to succeed to
his father's subordinate throne, under the title of Krom
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 251
P'hra Eaja Bowawn Shathan Mongkoon. The title of the
present supreme king (my amiable and very promising
scholar) is Prabat Somdetch P'hra Paramendr Maha Chu-
lalonkorn Kate Klou Chow-yu-Hua.
About a year after my first ill-omened interviews with
Maha Mongkut, and when I had become permanently in
stalled in my double office of teacher and scribe, I was
one day busy with a letter from his Majesty to the Earl
of Clarendon, and finding that any attempt at partial
correction would but render his meaning more ambiguous,
and impair the striking originality of his style, I had
abandoned the effort, and set about copying it with literal
exactness, only venturing to alter here and there a word,
such as " I hasten with wilful pleasure to write in reply
to your Lordship's well-wishing letter," etc. Whilst I was
thus evolving from the depths of my inner consciousness
a satisfactory solution to this conundrum in King's Eng
lish, his Majesty's private secretary lolled in the sunniest
corner of the room, stretching his dusky limbs and heav
ily nodding, in an ecstasy of ease-taking. Poor P'hra-
Alack ! I never knew him to be otherwise than sleepy,
and his sleep was always stolen. For his Majesty was
the most capricious of kings as to his working moods, —
busy when the average man should be sleeping, sleeping
while letters, papers, despatches, messengers, mail-boats
waited. More than once had we been aroused at dead
of night by noisy female slaves, and dragged in hot haste
and consternation to the Hall of Audience, only to find
that his Majesty was, not at his last gasp, as we had
feared, but simply bothered to find in Webster's Diction
ary some word that was to be found nowhere but in his
own fertile brain ; or perhaps in excited chase of the
classical term for some trifle he was on the point of or
dering from London, — and that word was sure to be a
stranger to my brain.
252 THE SUPREME KING:
Before my arrival in Bangkok it had been his not un
common practice to send for a missionary at midnight,
have him beguiled or abducted from his bed, and conveyed
by boat to the palace, some miles up the river, to inquire
if it would not be more elegant to write murky instead
of obscure, or gloomily dark rather than not clearly appar
ent. And if the wretched man should venture to declare
his honest preference for the ordinary over the extraordi
nary form of expression, he was forthwith dismissed with
irony, arrogance, or even insult, and without a word of
apology for the rude invasion of his rest.
One night, a little after twelve o'clock, as he was on
the point of going to bed like any plain citizen of regular
habits, his Majesty fell to thinking how most accurately
to render into English the troublesome Siamese word phi,
which admits of a variety of interpretations.* After
puzzling over it for more than an hour, getting himself
possessed with the word as with the devil it stands for,
and all to no purpose, he ordered one of his lesser state
barges to be manned and despatched with all speed for
the British Consul. That functionary, inspired with live
ly alarm by so startling a summons, dressed himself with
unceremonious celerity, and hurried to the palace, conjec
turing on the way all imaginable possibilities of politics
and diplomacy, revolution or invasion. To his vexation,
not less than his surprise, he found the king in dishabille,
engaged with a Siamese-English vocabulary, and mentally
divided between " deuce " and " devil," in the choice of an
equivalent. His preposterous Majesty gravely laid the
case before the consul, who, though inwardly chafing at
what he termed " the confounded coolness " of the situa
tion, had no choice but to decide with grace, and go back
to bed with philosophy.
No wonder, then, that P'hra- Alack experienced an ac-
* Ghost, spirit, soul, devil, evil angel.
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 253
cess of gratitude for the privilege of napping for two
hours in a snuggery of sunshine.
" Mam-kha," * he murmured drowsily, " I hope that in
the Chat-Nah f I shall be a freed man."
" I hope so sincerely, P'hra- Alack," said I. " I hope
you '11 be an Englishman or an American, for then you '11
be sure to be independent."
It was impossible not to pity the poor old man, — stiff
with continual stooping to his task, and so subdued ! —
liable not only to be called at any hour of the day or night,
but to be threatened, cuffed, kicked, beaten on the head, J
every way abused and insulted, and the next moment to
be taken into favor, confidence, bosom-friendship, even as
his Majesty's mood might veer.
Alack for P'hra- Alack ! though usually he bore with
equal patience his greater and his lesser ills, there were
occasions that sharply tried his meekness, when his weak
and goaded nature revolted, and he rushed to a snug little
home of his own, about forty yards from the Grand Pal
ace, there to snatch a respite of rest and refreshment in
the society of his young and lately wedded wife. Then
the king would awake and send for him, whereupon he
would be suddenly ill, or not at home, strategically hiding
himself under a mountain of bedclothes, and detailing
Mrs. P'hra- Alack to reconnoitre and report. He had tried
this primitive trick so often that its very staleness infuri
ated the king, who invariably sent officers to seize the
trembling accomplice and lock her up in a dismal cell as
a hostage for the scribe's appearance. At dusk the poor
fellow would emerge, contrite and terrified, and prostrate
himself at the gate of the palace. Then his Majesty
(who, having spies posted in every quarter of the town,
* Kha, " your slave."
t The next state of existence.
£ The greatest indignity a Siamese can suffer.
254 THE SUPREME KING :
knew as well as P'hra- Alack himself what the illness or the
absence signified) leisurely strolled forth, and, finding the
patient on the threshold, flew always into a genuine rage,
and prescribed " decapitation on the spot," and " sixty
lashes on the bare back," both in the same breath. And
while the attendants flew right and left, — one for the
blade, another for the thong, — the king, still raging,
seized whatever came most handy, and belabored his
bosom-friend on the head and shoulders. Having thus
summarily relieved his mind, he despatched the royal
secretary for his ink-horn and papyrus, and began indit
ing letters, orders, appointments, before scymitar or lash
(which were ever tenderly slow on these occasions) had
made its appearance. Perhaps in the very thick of his
dictating he would remember the connubial accomplice,
and order his people to " release her, and let her go."
Slavery in Siam is the lot of men' of a much finer in
tellectual type than any who have been its victims in
modern times in societies farther west. P'hra-Alack had
been his Majesty's slave when they were boys together.
Together they had played, studied, and entered the priest
hood. At once bondman, comrade, classmate, and con
fidant, he was the very man to fill the office of private
secretary to his royal crony. Virgil made a slave of his a
poet, and Horace was the son of an emancipated slave.
The Roman leech and chirurgeon were often slaves ; so,
too, the preceptor and the pedagogue, the reader and the
player, the clerk and the amanuensis, the singer, the
dancer, the wrestler, and the buffoon, the architect, the
smith, the weaver, and the shoemaker ; even the armigcr
or squire was a slave. Educated slaves exercised their
talents and pursued their callings for the emolument of
their masters ; and thus it is to-day in Siam. Mutato
nomine, de tefdbula narratur, P'hra-Alack !
The king's taste for English composition had, by much
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 255
exercise, developed itself into a passion. In the pursuit
of it he was indefatigable, rambling, and petulant. Ho
had " Webster's Unabridged " on the brain, — an exasper
ating form of king's evil. The little dingy slips that
emanated freely from the palace press were as indiscrim
inate as they wTere quaint. No topic was too sublime or
too ignoble for them. All was " copy " that came to
those cases, — from the glory of the heavenly bodies to
the nuisance of the busybodies who scolded his Majesty
through the columns of the Bangkok Eecorder.
I have before me, as I write, a circular from his pen,
and in the type of his private press, which, being without
caption or signature, may be supposed to be addressed
" to all whom it may concern." The American mission
aries had vexed his exact scholarship by their peculiar
mode of representing in English letters the name of a
native city (Prippri, or in Sanskrit Bejrepuri). Whence
this droll circular, which begins with a dogmatic line : —
" None should write the name of city of Prippri thus
- P'et cha poory."
Then comes a pedantic demonstration of the derivation
of the name from a compound Sanskrit word, signifying
" Diamond City." And the document concludes with a
characteristic explosion of impatience, at once critical,
royal, and sacerdotal : " Ah ! what the Ecmanization of
American system that P'etch' abury will be ! Will whole
human learned world become the pupil of their corrupted
Siamese teachers ? It is very far from correctness. Why
they did not look in journal of Eoyal Asiatic Society,
where several words of Sanskrit and Pali were published
continually ? Their Siamese priestly teachers considered
all Europeans as very heathen ; to them far from sacred
tongue, and were glad to have American heathens to be
come their scholars or pupils ; they thought they have
taught sacred language to the part of heathen ; in fact,
256 THE SUPREME KING :
they themselves are very far from sacred language, being
sunk deeply in corruption of sacred and learned language,
for tongue of their former Laos and Cambodian teachers,
and very far from knowledge of Hindoostanee, Cingha-
lese, and Royal Asiatic Society's knowledge in Sanskrit,
as they are considered by such the Siamese teachers as
heathen ; called by them Mit ch'a thi-thi, &c., £c., i. e.
wrongly seer or spectator, &c., &c."
In another slip, which is manifestly an outburst of the
royal petulance, his Majesty demands, in a " displayed "
paragraph : —
" Why name of Mr. Knox [Thomas George Knox, Esq.,
British Consul] was not published thus : Missa Nok or
Nawk. If name of Chow Phya Bhudharabhay is to be
thus : P'raya P'oo t'a ra P'ie. And why the London was
not published thus : Lundun or Landan, if Bejrepuri is to
be published P'etch' abury."
In the same slip with the philological protest the fol
lowing remarkable paragraphs appear : —
" What has been published in No. 25 of Bangkok Re
corder thus : —
" ' The king of Siam, on reading from some European
paper that the Pope had lately suffered the loss of some
precious jewels, in consequence of a thief having got
possession of his Holiness' keys, exclaimed, "What a
man ! professing to keep the keys of Heaven, and cannot
even keep his own keys ! "
" The king on perusal thereof denied that it is false.
He knows nothing about his Holiness the Pope's sustain
ing loss of gems, &c., and has said nothing about religious
faith."
This is curious, in that it exposes the king's unworthy
fear of the French priesthood in Siam. The fact is that
he did make the rather smart remark, in precisely these
words : " Ah ! what a man ! professing to keep the keys
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 257
of Heaven, and not able to guard those of his own bu
reau ! " and he was quite proud of his hit. But when it
appeared in the Recorder, he thought it prudent to bar it
with a formal denial. Hence the politic little item which
he sent to all the foreigners in Bangkok, and especially
to the French priests.
His Majesty's mode of dealing with newspaper strict
ures (not always just) and suggestions (not always perti
nent) aimed at his administration of public affairs, or the
constitution and discipline of his household, was charac
teristic. He snubbed them with sententious arrogance,
leavened with sarcasm.
When the Recorder recommended to the king the ex
pediency of dispersing his Solomonic harem, and abolish
ing polygamy in the royal family, his Majesty retorted
with a verbal message to the editor, to the purport that
" when the Recorder shall have dissuaded princes and
noblemen from offering their daughters to the king as
concubines, the king will cease to receive contributions of
women in that capacity."
In August, 1865, an angry altercation occurred in the
Royal Court of Equity (sometimes styled the Interna
tional Court) between a French priest and Phya Wiset, a
Siamese nobleman, of venerable years, but positive spirit
and energy. The priest gave Phya Wiset the lie, and
Phya Wiset gave it back to the priest, whereupon the
priest became noisy. Afterward he reported the affair to
his consul at Bangkok, with the embellishing statement
that not only himself, but his religion, had been grossly
insulted. The consul, one Monsieur Aubaret, a peppery
and pugnacious Frenchman, immediately made a demand
upon his Majesty for the removal of Phya Wiset from
office.
This despatch was sent late in the evening by the hand
of Monsieur Lamarche, commanding the troops at the
258 THE SUPREME KING :
royal palace ; and that officer had the consul's order to
present it summarily. Lamarche managed to procure ad
mittance to the penetralia, and presented the note at two
o'clock in the morning, in violation of reason and cour
tesy as well as of rules, excusing himself on the ground
that the despatch was important and his orders peremp
tory. His Majesty then read the despatch, and remarked
that the matter should be disposed of " to-morrow." La
marche replied, very presumptuously, that the affair
required ho investigation, as he had heard the offensive
language of Phya Wiset, and that person must be de
posed without ceremony. Whereupon his Majesty or
dered the offensive foreigner to leave the palace.
Lamarche repaired forthwith to the consul, and report
ed that the king had spoken disrespectfully, not only of
his Imperial Majesty's consul, but of the Emperor him
self, besides outrageously insulting a French messenger.
Then the fire-eating functionary addressed another de
spatch to his Majesty, the purport of which was, that, in
expelling Lamarche from the palace, the King of Siam
had been guilty of a political misdemeanor, and had
rudely disturbed the friendly relations existing between
France and Siam ; that he should leave Bangkok for
Paris, and in six weeks lay his grievance before the Em
peror ; but should first proceed to Saigon, and engage the
French admiral there to attend to any emergency that
might arise in Bangkok.
His Majesty, who knew how to confront the uproar of
'vulgarity and folly with the repose of wisdom and dig
nity, sent his own cousin, the Prince Mom Rachoday,
Chief Judge of the Royal Court of Equity, to M. Au-
baret, to disabuse his mind, and impart to him all the
truth of the case. But the " furious Frank " seized the
imposing magnate by the hair, drove him from his door,
and flung his betel-box after him, — a reckless impulse
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 259
of outrage as monstrous as the most ingenious and delib
erate brutality could have devised. Rudely to seize a
Siamese by the hair is an indignity as grave as to spit in
the face of a European ; and the betel-box, beside being
a royal present, was an essential part of the insignia of
the prince's judicial office.
On a later occasion this same Aubaret seized the oppor
tunity a royal procession afforded to provoke the king to
an ill-timed discussion of politics, and to prefer an intem
perate complaint against the Kralahome, or prime minis
ter. This characteristic flourish of ill temper and bad
manners, from the representative of the politest of na
tions, naturally excited lively indignation and disgust
among all respectable dwellers, native or foreign, near the
court, and a serious disturbance was imminent. But a
single dose of the King's English sufficed to soothe the
spasmodic official, and reduce him to " a sense of his sit
uation."
" To THE HON. TIIE MONSIEUR AUBARET, the Consul for H. I. M.
" SIR : — The verbal insult or bad words without any
step more over from lower or lowest person is considered
very slight & inconsiderable.
" The person standing on the surface of the ground or
floor Cannot injure the heavenly bodies or any highly
hanging Lamp or glope by ejecting his spit from his
mouth upward it will only injure his own face without
attempting of Heavenly bodies — &c.
" The Siamese are knowing of being lower than heaven
do not endeavor to injure heavenly bodies with their spit
from mouth.
" A person who is known to be powerless by every one,
as they who have no arms or legs to move oppose or in
jure or deaf or blind &c. &c. cannot be considered and
?aid that they are our enemies even for their madness in
260 THE SUPREME
vain — it might be considered as easily agitation or un
easiness.
"Persons under strong desires without any limit or act
ing under illimited anger sometimes cannot be believed
at once without testimony or witness if they stated
against any one verbally from such the statements of the
most desirous or persons most illimitedly angry hesitation
and mild enquiry is very prudent from persons of consid-
arable rank." No sigmiun
Never were simplicity with shrewdness, and uncon
scious humor with pathos, and candor with irony, and
political economy with the sense of an awful bore, more
quaintly blended than in the following extraordinary hint,
written and printed by his Majesty, and freely distributed
for the snubbing of visionary or speculative adventurers :
" NOTICE.
" When the general rumor was and is spread out from
Siam, circulated among the foreigners to Siam, chiefly
Europeans, Chinese, &c, in three points : —
" 1. That Siam is under quite absolute Monarchy.
Whatever her Supreme Sovereign commanded, allowed,
&c all cannot be resisted by any one of his Subjects.
" 2. The Treasury of the Sovereign of Siam, was full
for money, like a mountain of gold and silver ; Her Sov
ereign most wealthy.
" 3. The present reigning Monarch of Siam is shallow
minded and admirer of almost everything of curiosity,
and most admirer of European usages, customs, sciences,
arts and literature &c, without limit. He is fond of flat
tering term and ambitious of honor, so that there are now
many opportunities and operations to be embraced for
drawing great money from Eoyal Treasury of Siam, &c.
" The most many foreigners being under belief of such
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 261
general rumour, were endeavoring to draw money from
him in various operations, as aluring him with valuable
curiosities and expectations of interest, and flattering
him, to be glad of them, and deceiving him in various
ways ; almost on every opportunity of Steamer coming
to Siam, various foreigners partly known to him and ac
quainted with him, and generally unknown to him, boldly
wrote to him in such the term of various application and
treatment, so that he can conclude that the chief object
of all letters written to him, is generally to draw money
from him, even unreasonable. Several instances and tes
timonies can be shown for being example on this subject
— the foreigners letters addressed to him, come by every
one steamer of Siam, and of foreign steamers visiting Siam ;
10 and 12 at least and 40 at highest number, urging him
in various ways ; so he concluded that foreigners must
consider him only as a mad king of a wild land !
" He now states that he cannot be so mad more, as he
knows and observes the consideration of the foreigners
towards him. Also he now became of old age,* and was
very sorry to lose his principal members of his family
namely, his two Queens, twice, and his younger brother
the late Second King, and his late second son and beloved
daughter, and moreover now he fear of sickness of his
eldest son, he is now unhappy and must solicit his
friends in correspondence and others who please to write
for the foresaid purpose, that they should know suit
able reason in writing to him, and shall not urge him as
they would urge a madman ! And the general rumours
forementioned are some exaggerated and some entirely
false ; they shall not believe such the rumours, deeply
and ascertainedly.
" KOYAL RESIDENCE GRAND PALACE
BANGKOK 2nd July 1867."
* He was sixty-two at this time.
262 THE SUPREME KING :
And now observe with what gracious ease this most
astute and discriminating prince could fit his tone to the
sense of those who, familiar with his opinions, and recon
ciled to his temper and his ways, however peculiar, could
reciprocate the catholicity of his sympathies, and appre
ciate his enlightened efforts to fling off that tenacious old-
man-of-the-sea custom, and extricate himself from the
predicament of conflicting responsibilities. To these, on
the Christian New Year's day of 1867, he addressed this
kindly greeting : —
" S. P. P. M. MONGKUT :
" Called in Siamese ' P'hra-Chomklau chao-yuhua/ in
Magadhi or language of Pali ' Siainikanam Maha Rajah,'
In Latin ' Rex Siamensium,' In French ' Le Roi de Siam/
In English ' The King of Siam/ and in Malayan ' Eajah
Maha Pasali ' &c.
"Begs to present his respectful and regardful compli
ments and congratulations in happy lives during im
mediately last year, and wishes the continuing thereof
during the commencing New Year, and ensuing and suc
ceeding many years, to his foreign friends, both now in
Siam namely, the functionary and acting Consuls and
consular officers of various distinguished nations in Treaty
Power with Siam and certain foreign persons under our
salary, in service in any manner here, and several Gentle
men and Ladies who are resident in Siam in various sta
tions : namely, the Priests, Preachers of religion, Masters
and Mistresses of Schools, Workmen and Merchants, &c,
and now abroad in various foreign countries and ports,
who are our noble and common friends, acquainted either
by ever having had correspondences mutually with us
some time, at any where and remaining in our friendly
remembrance or mutual remembrance, and whosoever are
in service to us as our Consuls, vice consuls and consular
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. ' 263
assistants, in various foreign ports. Let them know our
remembrance and good wishes toward them all.
" Though we are not Christians, the forenamed King
was glad to arrive this day in his valued life, as being the
22,720th day of his age, during which he was aged sixty-
two years and three months, and being the 5,711th day
of his reign, during which he reigned upon his kingdom
15 years and 8 months up to the current month.
" In like manner he was very glad to see & know and
hope for all his Eoyal Family, kindred and friends of both
native and foreign, living near and far to him had arrived
to this very remarkable anniversary of the commencement
of Solar Year in Anno Chris ti 1867.
" In their all being healthy and well living like himself,
he begs to express his royal congratulation and respect
and graceful regards to all his kindred friends both na
tive and foreign, and hopes to receive such the congrat
ulation and expression of good wishes toward him and
members of his family in very like manner, as he trusts
that the amity and grace to one another of every of hu
man beings who are innocent, is a great merit, and is
righteous and praiseworthy in religious system of all civil
religion, and best civilized laws and morality, &c.
" Given at the Eoyal Audience Hall, ' Anant Sama-
gome,' Grand Palace, Bangkok," etc., etc.
The remoter provinces of Siam constitute a source of
continual anxiety and much expense to the government ;
and to his Majesty (who, very conscious of power, was
proud to be able to say that the Malayan territories and
rajahs — Cambodia, with her marvellous cities, palaces, and
temples, once the stronghold of Siam's most formidable
and implacable foes ; the Laos country, with its warlike
princes and chiefs — were alike dependencies and tribu-
264 THE SUPREME KING :
taries of his crown) it was intolerably irritating to find
Cambodia rebellious. So long as his government could
successfully maintain its supremacy there, that country
formed a sort of neutral ground between his people and
the Cochin-Chinese ; a geographical condition which was
not without its political advantages. But now the un
scrupulous French had strutted upon the scene, and with
a flourish of diplomacy and a stroke of the pen appropri
ated to themselves the fairest portion of that most fertile
province. His Majesty, though secretly longing for the
intervention and protection of England, was deterred by
his almost' superstitious fear of the French from complain
ing openly. But whenever he was more than commonly
annoyed by the pretensions and aggressive epistles of his
Imperial Majesty's consul he sent for me, — thinking,
like all Orientals, that, being English, my sympathy for
him, and my hatred of the French, were jointly a fore
gone conclusion. When I would have assured him that
I was utterly powerless to help him, he cut me short with
a wise whisper to " consult Mr. Thomas George Knox " ;
and when I protested that that gentleman was too honor
able to engage in a secret intrigue against a colleague,
even for the protection of British interests in Siam, he
would rave at my indifference, the cupidity of the French,
the apathy of the English, and the fatuity of all geogra
phers in " setting down " the form of government in Siam
as an " absolute monarchy."
" / an absolute monarch ! For I have no power over
French. Siam is like a mouse before an elephant ! Am
I an absolute monarch ? What shall you consider me ? "
Now, as I considered him a particularly absolute and
despotic king, that was a trying question ; so I discreetly
held my peace, fearing less to be classed with those ob
noxious savans who compile geographies than to provoke
him afresh.
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 265
" 1 Lave no power," lie scolded ; " I am not abso
lute ! If I point the end of my walking-stick at a man
whom, being my enemy, I wisli to die, he does not die,
but lives on, in spite of my ' absolute ' will to the con
trary. What does Geographies mean ? How can I be an
absolute monarchy ? "
Such a conversation we were having one day as he " as
sisted " at the founding of a temple ; and while he re
proached his fate that he was powerless to " point the end
of his walking-stick" with absolute power at the peppery
and presumptuous Monsieur Aubaret, he vacantly flung
gold and silver coins among the work-women.
In another moment he forgot all French encroachments,
and the imbecility of geographers in general, as his
glance chanced to fall upon a young woman of fresh
and striking beauty, and delightful piquancy of ways
and expression, who with a clumsy club was pounding
fragments of pottery — urns, vases, and goglets — for the
foundation of the watt. Very artless and happy she
seemed, and free as she was lovely ; but the instant she
perceived she had attracted the notice of the king, she
sank down and hid her face in the earth, forgetting or
disregarding the falling vessels that threatened to crush or
wound her. But the king merely diverted himself with
inquiring her name and parentage ; and some one an
swering for her, he turned away.
Almost to the latest hour of his life his Majesty suf
fered, in his morbid egotism, various and keen annoyance,
by reason of his sensitiveness to the opinions of foreign
ers, the encroachments of foreign officials, and the strict
ures of the foreign press. He was agitated by a restless
craving for their sympathy on the one hand, and by a
futile resentment of their criticisms or their claims on the
other.
An article in a Singapore paper had administered moral
12
266 THE SUPREME KING :
correction to his Majesty on the strength of a rumor that
" the king has his eye upon another princess of the high
est rank, with a view to constituting her a queen consort."
And the Bangkok Eecorder had said : " Now, considering
that he is full threescore and three years of age, that he
has already scores of concubines and about fourscore sons
and daughters, with several Cliowfas among them, and
hence eligible to the highest posts of honor in the king
dom, this rumor seems too monstrous to be credited. But
the truth is, there is scarcely anything too monstrous for
the royal polygamy of Siam to bring forth." By the light
of this explanation the meaning of the following extract
from the postscript of a letter which the king wrote in
April, 1866, will be clear to the reader, who, at the same
time, in justice to me, will remember that by the death
of his Majesty, on the 1st of October, 1868, the seal of
secrecy was broken.
"VERY PRIVATE POST SCRIPT.
" There is a newspaper of Singapore entitled Daily
News just published after last arrival of the steamer
Chowphya in Singapore, in which paper, a correspondence
from an Individual resident at Bangkok dated 16th March
1866 was shown, but I have none of that paper in my
possession I did not noticed its number & date to
state to you now, but I trust such the paper must be in
hand of several foreigners in Bangkok, may you have read
it perhaps — other wise you can obtain the same from
any one or by order to obtain from Singapore ; after pe
rusal thereof you will not be able to deny my statement
forementioned more over as general people both native &
foreigners here seem to have less pleasure on me & my
descendant, than their pleasure and hope on other amiable
family to them until the present day.
" What was said there in for a princess considered by
HIS CHARACTER AND ADMINISTRATION. 267
the Speaker or Writer as proper or suitable to be head
on my liarcm (a room or part for confinement of Women
of Eastern monarch *) there is no least intention occurred
to me even once or in my dream indeed ! I think if I do
so, I will die soon perhaps !
" This my handwriting or content hereof shall be kept
secretly.
" I beg to remain
" Your faithful & well-wisher
" S. P. P. M. MONGKUT E. S.
" on 5441th day of reign.
" the writer here of beg to place his confidence on you
alway."
As a true friend to his Majesty, I deplore the weakness
which betrayed him into so transparent a sham of virtu
ous indignation. The "princess of the highest rank,"
whom the writer of the article plainly meant, was the
Princess of Chiengmai ; but from lack of accurate infor
mation he was misled into confounding her with the
Princess Tui Duang Prabha, his Majesty's niece. The
king could honestly deny any such intention on his part
with regard to his niece ; but, at the same time, he well
knew that the writer erred only as to the individual, and
not as to the main fact of the case. The Princess of
Chiengmai was the wife, and the Princess Tui Duang
the daughter, of his full brother, the Second King, lately
deceased.
Much more agreeable is it — to the reader, I doubt not,
not less than to the writer — to turn from the king, in
the exercise of his slavish function of training honest
words to play the hypocrite for ignoble thoughts, to the
* A parenthetical drollery inspired by the dictionary.
268 THE SUPREME KING.
gentleman, the friend, the father, giving his heart a holi
day in the relaxations of simple kindness and free affec
tion, — as in the following note : —
" Dated RANCHAUPURY 34th February 1865.
" To LADY L & HER SON LUISE, Bangkok.
"We having very pleasant journey '. ... to be here
which is a township called as above named by men of
republick affairs in Siam, & called by common people as
' Parkphrieck ' where we have our stay a few days. & will
take our departure from hence at dawn of next day. We
thinking of you both regardfully & beg to send here
with some wild aples & barries which are delicate for
tasting & some tobacco which were and are principal prod
uct of this region for your kind acceptance hoping this
wild present will be acceptable to you both.
" We will be arrived at our home Bangkok on early
part of March.
"We beg to remain
" Your faithful
" S. P. P. M. MONGKUT E. S.
" in 5035th day of reign.
" And your affectionate pupils
"YiNG YULACKS. MANEABHADAHORX.
SOMDETCH CHOWFA CHULALONKORX.* KRITAHINIHAR.
PRABHASSOR. SOMAWATI."
* The present king.
XXVII.
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
IN 1864 I found that my labors had greatly increased ;
I had often to work till ten o'clock at night to ac
complish the endless translations required of me. I also
began to perceive how continually and closely I was
watched, but how and by whom it seemed impossible to
discover. Among the inducements to me to accept the
position of teacher to the royal family was his Majesty's
assurance, that, if I gave satisfaction, he would increase
my salary after a year's trial. Nearly three years had
passed when I first ventured to remind the king of this
promise. To my astonishment he bluntly informed me
that I had not given satisfaction, that I was " difficult "
and unmanageable, " more careful about what was right
and what was wrong than for the obedience and submis
sion." And as to salary, he continued : " Why you should
be poor ? You come into my presence every day with
some petition, some case of hardship or injustice, and you
demand ' your Majesty shall most kindly investigate, and
cause redress to be made ' ; and I have granted to you
because you are important to me for translations, and
so forth. And now you declare you must have increase
of salary ! Must you have everything in this world ?
"Why you do not make them pay you ? If I grant you
all your petition for the poor, you ought to be rich, or you
have no wisdom."
At a loss what answer to make to this very unsympa-
270 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
thetic view of my conduct, I quietly returned to my
duties, which grew daily in variety and responsibility.
What with translating, correcting, copying, dictating,
reading, I had hardly a moment I could call my own ;
and if at any time I rebelled, I brought down swift ven
geance on the head of the helpless native secretary.
But it was my consolation to know that I could befriend
the women and children of the palace, who, when they saw
that' I was not afraid to oppose the king in his more out
rageous caprices of tyranny, imagined me endued with
supernatural powers, and secretly came to me with their
grievances, in full assurance that sooner or later I would see
them redressed. And so, with no intention on my part,
and almost without my own consent, I suffered myself to
be set up between the oppressor and the oppressed. From
that time I had no peace. Day after day I was called upon
to resist the wanton cruelty of judges and magistrates,
till at last I found myself at feud with the whole " San
Luang." In cases of torture, imprisonment, extortion, I
tried again and again to excuse myself from interfering,
but still the mothers or sisters prevailed, and I had no
choice left but to try to help them. Sometimes I sent
Boy with my clients, sometimes I went myself ; and in no
single instance was justice granted from a sense of right,
but always through fear of my supposed influence with
the king. My Siamese and European friends said I was
amassing a fortune. It seemed not worth my while to
contradict them, though the inference was painful to me,
for in truth my championship was not purely disinter
ested ; I suffered from continual contact with the suffer
ings of others, and came to the rescue in self-defence and
in pity for myself not less than for them.
A Chinaman had been cruelly murdered and robbed by
a favorite slave in the household of the prime minister's
brother, leaving the brother, wife, and children of the vie-
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 271
tim in helpless poverty and terror. The murderer had
screened himself and his accomplices by sharing the
plunder with his master. The widow cried for redress
in vain. The ears of magistrates were stopped against
her, and she was too poor to pay her way ; but still she
went from one court to another, until her importunity irri
tated the judges, who, to intimidate her, seized her eldest
son, on some monstrous pretext, and cast him into prison.
This double cruelty completed the despair of the unhappy
mother. She came to me fairly frenzied, and " com
manded " me to go at once into the presence of the king
and demand her stolen child; and then, in a sudden par
oxysm of grief, she embraced my knees, wailing, and pray
ing to me to help her. It was not in human nature to
reject that maternal claim. With no little trouble I pro
cured the liberation of her son ; but to keep him out of
harm's way I had to take him into rny own home and
change his name. I called him Timothy, which by a
Chinese abbreviation became Ti.
When I went with this woman and the brother of the
murdered man to the palace of the premier, we found
that distinguished personage half naked and playing
chess. Seeing me enter, he ordered one of his slaves to
bring him a jacket, into which he thrust his arms, and
went on with the game; and not until that was finished
did he attend to me. When I explained my errand he
seemed vexed, but sent for his brother, had a long talk
with him, and concluded by warning my unhappy proteges
that if he heard any more complaints from them they
should be flogged. Then turning to me with a grim smile,
he said : " Chinee too much bother. Good by, sir ! "
This surprised me exceedingly, for I had often known
the premier to award justice in spite of the king. That
same evening, as I sat alone in my drawing-room, making
notes, as was my custom, I heard a slight noise, *is of some
272 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
one in the room. Looking round, I saw, to my amazement,
one of the inferior judges of the prime minister's court
crouching by the piano. I asked how he dared to enter my
house unannounced. " Mam," said he, " your servants
admitted me ; they know from whom I come, and would
not venture to refuse me. And now it is for you to know
that I am here from his Excellency Chow Phya Krala-
home, to request you to send in your resignation at the
end of this month."
" By what authority does he send me this message ? " I
asked.
" I know not ; but it were best that you obey."
" Tell him," I replied, unable to control my anger at the
cowardly trick to intimidate me, " I shall leave Siam when
I please, and that no man shall set the time for me."
The man departed, cringing and crouching, and excus
ing himself. This was the same wretch at whose instiga
tion poor Moonshee had been so shamefully beaten.
I did not close my eyes that night. Again and again
prudence advised me to seek safety in flight, but the
argument ended in my turning my back on the timid
monitor, and resolving to stay.
About three weeks after this occurrence, his Majesty
was going on an excursion " up country," and as he wished
me to accompany my pupils, the prime minister was re
quired to prepare a cabin for me and my boy on his
steamer, the Volant. Before we left the palace one of
my anxious friends made me promise her that I would
partake of no food nor taste a drop of wine on board the
steamer, — an injunction in the sequel easy to fulfil, as
our wants were amply provided for at the Grand Palace,
where we spent the whole day. But I cite this inci
dent to show the state of mind which led me to prolong
my stay, hateful as it had become.
After this, affairs in the royal household went smoothly
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 273
enough for some time ; but still my tasks increased, and
my health began to fail. When I informed his Majesty
that I needed at least a month of rest, and that I thought
of making a trip to Singapore, he was so unwilling that
I should rate highly the services I rendered him, that
he was careful to assure me I had not " favored " him
in any way, nor given him satisfaction ; and that if I
must be idle for a month, he certainly should not pay me
for the time ; and he kept his word. Nevertheless, while
I was at Singapore he wrote to me most kindly, assuring
me that his wives and children were anxious for my re
turn.
After the sad death of the dear little princess, Chow
Fa-ying, the king had become more cordial ; but the labor
he imposed upon me was in proportion to the confidence
he reposed in me. At times he required of me services,
in my capacity of secretary, not to be thought of by a
European sovereign ; and when I declined to perform them,
he would curse me, close the gates of the palace against
me, and even subject me to the insults and threats of the
parasites and slaves who crawled about his feet. On two
occasions — first for refusing to write a false letter to Sir
John Bowring, now Plenipotentiary for the Court of
Siain in England ; and again for declining to address the
Earl of Clarendon in relation to a certain British officer
then in Siam — he threatened to have me tried at the Brit
ish Consulate, and was so violent that I was in real fear for
my life. Eor three days I waited, with doors and win
dows barred, for I knew not what explosion.
After the death of the Second King, his Majesty be
haved very disgracefully. It was well known that the
ladies of the prince's harem were of the most beautiful of
the women of Laos, Pegu, and Birmah ; above all, the
Princess of Chiengmai was famed for her manifold graces
of person and character. Etiquette forbade the royal
12* B
274 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
brothers to pry into the constitution of each other's
serail, but by means most unworthy of his station, and
regardless of the privilege of his brother, Maha Mongkut
had learned of the acquisition to the subordinate king's
establishment of this celebrated and coveted beauty ; and
although she was now his legitimate sister-in-law, pri
vately married to the prince, he was not restrained by
any scruple of morality or delicacy from manifesting his
jealousy and pique.* Moreover, this disgraceful feeling
was fostered by other considerations than those of mere
sensuality or ostentation. Her father, the tributary ruler
of Chiengmai, had on several occasions confronted his
aggressive authority with a haughty and intrepid spirit ;
and once, when Maha Mongkut required that he should
send his eldest son to Bangkok as a hostage for the
father's loyalty and good conduct, the unterrified chief
replied that he would be his own hostage. On the sum
mons being repeated in imperative terms, the young
prince fled from his father's court and took refuge with
the Second King in his stronghold of Ban Sitha, where he
was most courteously received and entertained until he
found it expedient to seek some securer or less compro
mising place of refuge.
The friendship thus founded between two proud and
daring princes soon became strong and enduring, and re
sulted in the marriage of the Princess Sunartha Vismita
(very willingly on her part) to the Second King, about a
year before his death.
The son of the King of Chiengmai never made his ap
pearance at the court of Siam ; but the stout old chief,
attended by trusty followers, boldly brought his own
" hostage " thither ; and Maha Mongkut, though secretly
charing, accepted the situation with a show of gracious-
ness, and overlooked the absence of the younger vassal.
* See portrait, Chap. XXV.
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 275
With the remembrance of these floutings still galling
him, the Supreme King frequently repaired to the Second
King's palace on the pretext of arranging certain " family
affairs " intrusted to him by his late brother, but in real
ity to acquaint himself with the charms of several female
members of the prince's household ; and, scandalous as it
should have seemed even to Siamese notions of the divine
right of kings, the most attractive and accomplished of
those women were quietly transferred to his own harem.
For some time I heard nothing more of the Princess of
Chiengmai ; but it was curious, even amusing, to observe
the serene contempt with which the " interlopers " were
received by the rival incumbents of the royal gynecium,
— especially the Laotian women, who are of a finer type
and much handsomer than their Siamese sisters.
Meantime his Majesty took up his abode for a fort
night at the Second King's palace, thereby provoking dan
gerous gossip in his own establishment ; so that his
" head wife," the Lady Thieng, even made bold to hint
that he might come to the fate of his brother, and die
by slow poison. His harem was agitated and excited
throughout, — some of the women abandoning themselves
to unaccustomed and unnatural gayety, while others sent
their confidential slaves to consult the astrologers and
soothsayers of the court ; and by the aid of significant
glances and shrugging of shoulders, and interchange of
signs and whispers, with feminine telegraphy and secret
service, most of those interested arrived at the sage con
clusion that their lord had fallen under the spells of a
witch or enchantress.
Such was the domestic situation when his Majesty
suddenly and without warning returned to his palace, but
in a mood so perplexing as to surpass all precedent and
baffle all tact. I had for some time performed with sur
prising success a leading part in a pretty little court play,
276 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
of which the well-meant plot had been devised by the
Lady Thieng. Whenever the king should be dangerously
enraged, and ready to let loose upon some tender culprit
of the harem the monstrous lash or chain, I — at a secret
cue from the head wife — was to enter upon his Majesty,
book in hand, to consult his infallibility in a pressing
predicament of translation into Sanskrit, Siamese, or
English. Absurdly transparent as it was, — perhaps the
happier for its very childishness, — under cover of this
naive device from time to time a hapless girl escaped the
fatal burst of his wrath. Midway in the rising storm of
curses and abuse he would turn with comical abruptness
to the attractive interruption with all the zest of a
scholar. I often trembled lest he should see through the
thinly covered trick, but he never did. On his return
from the prince's palace, however, even this innocent
stratagem failed us ; and on one occasion of my having
recourse to it he peremptorily ordered me away, and for
bade my coming into his presence again unless sent for.
Daily, after this, one or more of the women suffered from
his petty tyranny, cruelty, and spite. On every hand I
heard sighs and sobs from young and old ; and not a
woman there but believed he was bewitched and beside
himself.
' I had struggled through many exacting tasks since I
came to Siam, but never any that so taxed my powers of
endurance as my duties at this time, in my double office
of governess and private secretary to his Majesty. j His
moods were so fickle and unjust, his temper so tyrannical,
that it seemed impossible to please him ; from one hour
to another I never knew what to expect. And yet he
persevered in his studies, especially in his English cor
respondence, which was ever his solace, his pleasure, and
his pride. To an interested observer it might have af
forded rare enter tain inent to note how fluently, though
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 277
oddly, he spoke and wrote in a foreign language, but for
his caprices, which at times were so ridiculous, how
ever, as to be scarcely disagreeable. He would indite
letters, sign them, affix his seal, and despatch them in his
own mail-bags to Europe, America, or elsewhere ; and,
months afterward, insist on my writing to the parties ad
dressed, to say that the instructions they contained wrere
my mistake, — errors of translation, transcription, any
thing but his intention. In one or two instances, finding
that the case really admitted of explanation or apology
from his Majesty, I slyly so worded my letter, that, with
out compromising him, I yet managed to repair the mis
chief he had done. But I felt this could not continue
long. Always, on foreign-mail days, I spent from eight
to ten hours in this most delicate and vexatious work.
At length the crash came.
The king had promised to Sir John Bowring the ap
pointment of Plenipotentiary to the Court of France, to
negotiate, on behalf of Siam, new treaties concerning the
Cambodian possessions. With characteristic irresolution
he changed his mind, and decided to send a Siamese
Embassy, headed by his Lordship P'hra Nah Why, now
known as his Excellency Chow Phya Sri Sury-wongse.
No sooner had he entertained this fancy than he sent for
me, and coolly directed me to write and explain the matter
to Sir John, if possible attributing his new views and pur
pose to the advice of her Britannic Majesty's Consul ; or,
if I had scruples on that head, I might say the advice
was my own, — or " anything I liked," so that I justified
his conduct.
At this distance of time I cannot clearly recall all the
effect upon my feelings of so outrageous a proposition ;
but I do remember that I found myself emphatically de
clining to do " anything of the kind." Then, warned by
his gathering rage, I added that I would express to Sir
278 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
John his Majesty's regrets, but to attribute the blame to
those who had had no part in the matter, that I could never
do. At this his fury was grotesque. His talent for in
vective was always formidable, and he tried to overpower
me with threats. But a kindred spirit of resistance was
aroused in me. I withdrew from the palace, and patiently
abided the issue, resolved, in any event, to be firm.
His Majesty's anger was without bounds ; and in the
interval so fraught with anxiety and apprehension to me,
when I knew that a considerable party in the palace —
judges, magistrates, and officers about the person of the
king — regarded me as an eminently proper person to be
head or drown, he condescended to accuse me of abstract
ing a book that he chanced just then to miss from his
library, and also of honoring and favoring the British
Consul at the expense of his American colleague, then
resident at Bangkok. In support of the latter charge, he
alleged that I had written the American Consul's name at
the bottom of a royal circular, after carefully displaying
my own and the British functionary's at the top of it.
The circular in question, which had given just umbrage
to the American official, was fortunately in the keeping
of the Honorable * Mr. Bush, and was written by the
king's own hand, as was well known to all whom it con
cerned. These charges, with others of a more frivolous
nature, — such as disobeying, thwarting, scolding his Ma
jesty, treating him with disrespect, as by standing while
he was seated, thinking evil of him, slandering him, and
calling him wicked, — the king caused to be reduced to
writing and sent to me, with an intimation that I must
forthwith acknowledge my ingratitude and guilt, and make
atonement by prompt compliance with his wishes. The
secretary who brought the document to my house was ac
companied by a number of the female slaves of the pal-
* Here the title is Siamese.
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 279
ace, wlio besought me, in the name of their mistresses,
the wives of the " Celestial Supreme," to yield, and do all
that might be required of me.
Seeing this shaft miss its mark, the secretary, being a
man of resources, produced the other string to his bow.
He offered to bribe me, and actually spent two hours in
that respectable business ; but finally departed in despair,
convinced that the amount was inadequate to the cupidity
of an insatiable European, and mourning for himself that
he must return discomfited to the king.
Next morning, my boy and I presented ourselves as
usual at the inner gate of the palace leading to the
school, and were confronted there by a party of rude fel
lows and soldiers, who thrust us back with threats, and
even took up stones to throw at us. I dare not think
what might have been our fate, but for the generous res
cue of a crowd of the poorest slaves, who at that hour
were waiting for the opening of the gate. These rallied
round us, and guarded us back to our home. It was, in
deed, a time of terror for us. I felt that my life was in
great danger ; and so difficult did I find it to prevent the
continual intrusion of the rabble, both men and women,
into my house, that I had at length to bar my doors and
windows, and have double locks and fastenings added. I
became nervous and excited as I had never been before.
My first impulse was to write to the British Consul
and invoke his protection ; but that looked cowardly.
Nevertheless, I did prepare the letter, ready to be de
spatched at the first attempt upon our lives or liberty. I
wrote also to Mr. Bush, asking him to find without delay
the obnoxious circular, and bring it to my house. He
came that very evening, the paper in his hand. With in
finite difficulty I persuaded the native secretary, whom I
had again and again befriended in like extremities, to pro
cure for him an audience with the king.
280 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
On coming into the presence of his Majesty, Mr. Bush
simply handed him the circular, saying, " Main tells me
you wish to see this." The moment the caption of the
document met his eye, his Majesty's countenance assumed
a blank, bewildered expression peculiar to it, and he
seemed to look to my friend for an explanation ; but that
gentleman had none to offer, for I had made none to him.
And to crown all, even as the king was pointing to his
brow to signify that he had forgotten having written it,
one of the little princesses came crouching and crawling
into the room with the missing volume in her hand. It
had been found in one of the numerous sleeping-apart
ments of the king, beside his pillow, just in time !
Mr. Bush soon returned, bringing me assurances of his
Majesty's cordial reconciliation ; but I still doubted his
sincerity, and for weeks did not offer to enter the palace.
When, however, on the arrival of the Chow Phya steamer
witli the mail, I was formally summoned by the king to
return to my duties, I quietly obeyed, making no allusion
to my " bygones."
As I sat at my familiar table, copying, his Majesty ap
proached, and addressed me in these words : —
" Mam ! you are one great difficulty. I have much
pleasure and favor on you, but you are too obstinate.
You are not wise. "Wherefore are you so difficult ? You
are only a woman. It is very bad you can be so strong-
headed. Will you now have any objection to write to Sir
John, and tell him I am his very good friend ? "
" None whatever," I replied, " if it is to be simply a
letter of good wishes on the part of your Majesty."
I wrote the letter, and handed it to him for perusal.
He was hardly satisfied, for with only a significant grunt
he returned it to me, and left the apartment at once, — to
vent his spite on some one who had nothing to do with
the matter.
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 281
In due time the following very considerate but signifi
cant reply (addressed to his Majesty's " one great difficul
ty ") was received from Sir John Bowring : —
CLAREMONT, EXETER, 30 June, 1867.
DEAR MADAM: — Your letter of 12th May demands
from me the attention of a courteous reply. I am quite
sure the ancient friendship of the King of Siam would
never allow a slight, or indeed an unkindness, to me ; and
I hope to have opportunities of showing his Majesty that
I feel a deep interest in his welfare.
As regards the diplomacy of European courts, it is but
natural that those associated with them should be more
at home, and better able to direct their course, than
strangers from a distance, however personally estimable ;
and though, in the case in question, the mission of a Siam
ese Ambassador to Paris was no doubt well intended, and
could never have been meant to give me annoyance, it
was not to be expected he would be placed in that posi
tion of free and confidential intercourse which my long
acquaintance with public life would enable me to occupy.
In remote regions, people with little knowledge of official
matters in high quarters often take upon themselves to
give advice in great ignorance of facts, and speak very
unadvisedly on topics on which their opinions are worth
less and their influence valueless.
As regards M. Aubaret's offensive proceedings, I doubt
not he has received a caution * on my representation, and
that he, and others of his nation, would not be very will
ing that the Emperor — an old acquaintance of mine —
should hear from my lips what I might have to say. The
will of the Emperor is supreme, and I am afraid the
Cambodian question is now referred back to Siam. It
* Aubaret, French Consul at Bangkok, whose overbearing conduct has
been described elsewhere.
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
might have been better for me to have discussed it with
his Imperial Majesty. However, the past is past. Per
sonal influence, as you are aware, is not transferable ; but
when by the proper powers I am placed in a position to
act, his Majesty may be assured — as I have assured him
self — that his interests will not suffer in my hands.
I am obliged to you for the manner in which you have
conveyed to me his Majesty's gracious expressions
And you will believe me to be
Yours very truly,
JOHN BOWRING.
No friend of mine knew at that time how hard it was
for me to bear up, in the utter loneliness and forlornness
of my life, under the load of cares and provocations and
fears that gradually accumulated upon me.
But ah ! if any germ of love and truth fell from my
heart into the heart of even the meanest of those wives
and concubines and children of a king, if by any word
of mine the least of them was won to look up, out of the
depths of their miserable life, to a higher, clearer, brighter
light than their Buddha casts upon their path, then in
deed I did not labor in vain among them.
In the summer of 1866 my health suddenly broke
down, and for a time, it was thought that I must die.
When good Dr. Campbell gave me the solemn warning
all my trouble seemed to cease, and but for one sharp
pang for my children, — one in England, the other in
Siam, — I should have derived pure and perfect pleasure
from the prospect of eternal rest, so weary was I of my
tumultuous life in the East ; and though in the end I re
gained my strength in a measure, I was no longer able to
comply with the pitiless exactions of the king. And so,
yielding to the urgent entreaties of my friends, I decided
to return to England.
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 283
It took me half a year to get his Majesty's consent ;
and it was not without tiresome accusations of ingrati
tude and idleness that he granted me leave of absence for
six months.
I had hardly courage to face the women and children
the day I told them I was going away. It was hard to
be with them ; but it seemed cowardly to leave them.
For some time most of them refused to believe that I was
really going ; but when they could doubt no longer, they
displayed the most touching tenderness and thoughtful-
ness. Many sent me small sums of money to help me
on the journey. The poorest and meanest slaves brought
me rice cakes, dried beans, cocoanuts, and sugar. It was
in vain that I assured them I could not carry such things
away with me ; still the supplies poured in.
The king himself, who had been silent and sullen until
the morning of my departure, relented when the time
came to say good by. He embraced Boy with cordial
kindness, and gave him a silver buckle, and a bag contain
ing a hundred dollars to buy sweetmeats on the way.
Then turning to me, he said (as if forgetting himself) :
" Mam ! you much beloved by our common people, and
all inhabitants of palace and royal children. Every one
is in affliction of your departure ; and even that opium-
eating secretary, P'hra-Alack, is very low down in his
heart because you will go. It shall be because you must
be a good and true lady. I am often angry on you, and
lose my temper, though I have large respect for you,
But nevertheless you ought to know you are difficult
woman, and more difficult than generality. But you will
forget, and come back to my service, for I have more con
fidence on you every day. Good by ! " I could not re
ply ; my eyes filled with tears.
Then came the parting with my pupils, the women and
the children. That was painful enough, even while the
284 MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE.
king was present ; but when he abruptly withdrew, great
was the uproar. What could I do, but stand still and
submit to kisses, embraces, reproaches, from princesses
and slaves ? At last I rushed through the gate, the women
screaming after me, " Come back ! " and the children, " Don't
go ! " I hurried to the residence of the heir-apparent,
to the most trying scene of all. His regret seemed too
deep for words, and the few he did utter were very touch
ing. Taking both my hands and laying his brow upon
them, he said, after a long interval of silence, " Mam cha
klcqy ma thort I " — " Mam dear, come back, please ! "
" Keep a brave and true heart, my prince ! " was all that I
could say ; and my last " God bless you ! " was addressed
to the royal palace of Siam.
To this young prince, Chowfa Chulalonkorn, I was
strongly attached. He often deplored with me the cruelty
with which the slaves were treated, and, young as he
was, did much to inculcate kindness toward them among
his immediate attendants. He was a conscientious lad,
of pensive habit and gentle temper; many of my poor
clients I bequeathed to his care, particularly the Chinese
lad Ti. Speaking of slavery one day, he said to me:
" These are not slaves, but nobles ; they know how to
bear. It is we, the princes, who have yet to learn which
is the more noble, the oppressor or the oppressed."
When I left the palace the king was fast failing in
body and mind, and, in spite of his seeming vigor, there
was no real health in his rule, while he had his own way.
All the substantial success we find in his administration is
due to the ability and energy of his accomplished premier,
Phya Kralahome, and even his strength has been wasted.
The native arts and literature have retrograded ; in the
mechanic arts much has been lost ; and the whole nation
is given up to gambling.
The capacity of the Siamese race for improvement in
MY RETIREMENT FROM THE PALACE. 285
any direction has been sufficiently demonstrated, and the
government has made fair progress in political and moral
reforms ; but the condition of the slaves is such as to ex
cite astonishment and horror. What may be the ultimate
fate of Siam under this accursed system, whether she
will ever emancipate herself while the world lasts, there
is no guessing. The happy examples free intercourse
affords, the influence of European ideas, and the compul
sion of public opinion, may yet work wonders.
On the 5th of July, 1867, we left Bangkok in the
steamer Chow Phya. All our European friends accom
panied us to the Gulf of Siam, where we parted, with
much regret on my side ; and of all those whose kindness
had bravely cheered us during our long (I am tempted to
write) captivity, the last to bid us God-speed was the
good Captain Orton, to whom I here tender my heartfelt
thanks.
XXVIII.
THE KINGDOM OF SIAM.
"TTTITH her despotic ruler, priest and king ; her re-
V V ligion of contradictions, at once pure and corrupt,
lovely and cruel, ennobling and debasing; her laws,
wherein wisdom is so perversely blended with blindness,
enlightenment with barbarism, strength with weakness,
justice with oppression ; her profound scrutiny into mys
tic forms of philosophy, her ancient culture of physics,
borrowed from the primitive speculations of Brahminism ;
- Siam is, beyond a peradventure, one of the most remark
able and thought-compelling of the empires of the Orient ;
a fascinating and provoking enigma, alike to the theo
logian and the political economist. Like a troubled dream,
delirious in contrast with the coherence and stability of
Western life, the land and its people seem to be conjured
out of a secret of darkness, a wonder to the senses and a
mystery to the mind.
And yet it is a strangely beautiful reality. The en
chanting variety of its scenery, joined to the inexhausti
ble productiveness of its soil, constitutes a challenge to
the charms of every other region, except, perhaps, the
country watered by the great river of China. Through
an immense, continuous level of unfailing fertility, the
Meinam rolls slowly, reposefully, grandly, in its course
receiving draughts from many a lesser stream, filling
many a useful canal in its turn, and, from the abundance
THE KINGDOM OF SIAM. 287
the generous rains bestow, distributing supplies of refresh
ment and fatness to innumerable acres.
In a soil at once so rich and so well watered, the sun,
with its vivifying heats, engenders a mighty vegetation,
delighting the eye for more than half the year with end
less undulations of grain and a great golden Eden of
fruit. Its staples are solid blessings : rice, the Asiatic's
staff of life ; sugar, most popular of dietetic luxuries ;
indigo, most valuable of dyes ; in the drier tracts, cotton,
tobacco, coffee, a variety of palms (from one species of
which sugar not unlike that of the maple is extracted), the
wild olive, and the fig. Then there are vast forests of teak,
that enduring monarch of the vegetable kingdom, ebony,
satin-wood, eagle-wood ; beside ivory, beeswax and honey,
raw silk, and many aromatic gums and fragrant spices.
And though the scenery is less various and picturesque
than that of the regions of Gangetic India, where ranges
of noble mountains make the land majestic, nevertheless
nature riots here in bewildering luxuriances of vegetable
forms and colors. Vast tracts, shady and cool with dense
dark foliage ; trees, tall and strong, spreading their giant
arms abroad, with prickly, shining shrubs between, while
parasites and creepers, wild, bright, and beautiful, trail
from the highest boughs to the ground ; the bamboo,
shooting to the height of sixty feet and upward, with
branches gracefully drooping ; the generous, kind banana ;
fairy forests of ferns of a thousand forms ; tall grasses,
with their pale and plumy blossoms ; the many-trunked
and many-rooted banyan ; the boh, sacred to Buddha, —
all combine to form a garden that Adam might have
dressed and kept, and only Eve could spoil.
It is only when he approaches the borders of the land
that the traveller is greeted by grand mountains, crowned
with impenetrable forests, and forming an amphitheatre
around the graceful plains. Along the coast the view is
288 THE KINGDOM OF SIAM.
more diversified ; islands, the most picturesque, and rich
with diversified vegetation, make happy, striking con
trasts, here and there, with the deep blue sea around
them.
The extent and boundaries of the kingdom and its de
pendencies have been variously described ; but according
to the statement of his Majesty Maha Mongkut, the
dominion of his predecessors, before the possession of
Malacca by the Portuguese, extended over the whole of
the Malayan peninsula, including the islands of Singapore
and Pinang, which at that time formed a part of the realm
of the Eajah of Quedah, who still pays tribute to the
crown of Siam. It was at the instigation of English set
tlers that the states of Johore, Singapore, Piambo, Talan-
gore, Paliang, and Puah became subject to British rule ;
so that to-day the Siamese dominion, starting from the
little kingdom of Tringamu, extends from the fourth to
the twenty-second degree of north latitude, giving about
1,350 miles of length, while from east to west its greatest
breadth is about 450 miles. On the north it is bounded
by several provinces of Laos, tributaries of Ava and
China ; on the east by the empire of Anam ; on the west
by the sea and British possessions ; on the south by the
petty states of Pahang and Puah. Beyond Siam proper
are the kingdom of Ligor and the four small states, Que
dah, Patan, Calantan, and Yeingana ; on the east a part of
the kingdom of Cambodia, Muang Korat,and several prov
inces of Laos ; on the north the kingdoms of Chiengmai,
Laphun, Lakhon, Muang Phiee, Muang Naun, Muang
Loan, and Luang Phrabang. The great plain of Siam is
bounded on the east by a spur of the Himalayan range,
which breaks off in Cambodia, and is found again in the
west, extending almost to the extremity of the Malayan
states ; on the north these two mountain ranges approach
each other, and form that multitude of small hills which
THE KINGDOM OF SIAM. 289
imparts so picturesque an aspect to the Laos country.
This plain is watered by the river Meinam,* or Chow
Phya, whose innumerable branches, great and small, and
the many canals which, fed by it, intersect the capital
in all directions, constitute it the high-road of the Em
pire. For many miles its banks are fringed with the
graceful bamboo, the tamarind, the palm, and the peepul,
the homes of myriads of birds of the land and of the
water, — creatures of brilliant plumage and delightful
song.
Siam has some excellent harbors, though the principal
one, on the gulf, is partially obstructed by great banks of
sand that have accumulated at the mouth of the Chow
Phya. Ships of ordinary burden, however, can cross
these banks at high tide, and in a few hours cast anchor
in the heart of the capital, in from sixty to seventy feet
of water. Here they are snug and safe. Besides, the
gulf itself is free from the typhoons so destructive to
shipping on the China seas.
In all the Malayan Islands there are numerous unim
portant streams, which, though limited in their course,
form excellent harbors at their debouchement on the
coast. The eastern regions of Laos and Cambodia are
watered by the river Meikhong, which has a course of
nearly a thousand miles ; but its navigation, like that of
the Meinam at its mouth, is impeded by sand-banks. The
smaller streams, Chantabun, Pet Eue, and Tha Chang, all
run into the Meikhong, which, mingling its waters with
those of the Meinam, flows through Chiengmai, receives
the waters of Phitsalok, and then, diverging by many
channels, inundates the great plain of Siam once every
year, in the month of June. By the end of August this
entire region has become one vast sheet of water, so that
* "Mother of Waters," — a common Siamese term for all large
streams.
13 8
290 THE KINGDOM OF SIAM.
boats traverse it in every direction without injury to the
young rice springing up beneath them.
The climate of Siam is more or less hot according to
the latitude ; only continual bathing can render it en
durable. There are but two seasons, the wet and the dry.
As soon as the southwest monsoon sets in, masses of
spongy cumuli gather on the summits of the western
mountains, giving rise to furious squalls about sunset, and
dispersing in peals of thunder and torrents of refreshing
rain. From the beginning to the end of the rainy season,
this succession of phenomena is repeated every evening.
The monsoon from the north brings an excess of rain, and
the thermometer falls. With the return of the dry season
the air becomes comparatively cool, and most favorable to
health ; this continues from October to January. The
dews are extremely heavy in the months of March and
April. At dawn the atmosphere is impregnated with a
thick fog, which, as the sun rises, descends in dews so
abundant that trees, plants, and grass drip as from a re
cent shower of rain.
The population of Siam is still a matter of uncertainty ;
but it is officially estimated at from six to seven millions
of souls, comprising Siamese or Thai-Malay, Laotians,
Cambodians, Peguans, Kariens, Shans, and Loas.
Siam produces enormous quantities of excellent rice, of
which there are forty distinct varieties ; and her sugar is
esteemed the best in the world. Her rivers and lakes
abound in fish, as well as in turtles and aquatic birds.
The exports are rice, sugar, cotton, tobacco, hemp, cutch,
fish (salted and dried), cocoanut oil, beeswax, dried fruits,
gamboge, cardamoms, betel-nuts, pepper, various gums
and barks, sapan-wood, eagle-wood, rosewood, krachee-
wood, ebony, ivory, raw silk, buffalo-hides, tiger-skins,
armadillo-skins, elephants' tusks and bones, rhinoceros
bones, turtle-shells, peacocks' tails, bird's-nests, king
fishers' feathers, &c.
THE KINGIOM OF SIAM. 291
The revenue arising from duties and tolls on imported
and native produce being mostly collected in kind, only a
small part is converted into specie ; the rest is distributed
in part payment of salaries to the dependants of the
court, whose name is legion. Princes of the blood royal,
high officers of state, provincial governors, and most of
the judges, receive grants of provinces, districts, villages,
and farms, to support their several dignities and reward
their services ; and the rents, fees, fines, bribes, and sops
of these assignments are collected by them for their own
behoof. Thus, to one man are given the fees, to another
the fines or bribes, which custom has attached to his func
tions ; to others are alloted offices, by virtue of which cer
tain imposts are levied; to this man the land; to another
the waters of rivers and canals ; to a third the fruit-bear
ing trees. But money is distributed with a niggard hand,
and only once a year. Every officer of revenue is per
mitted to pocket, and " charge to salary," a part of all that
he collects in taxes, fines, extortions, bribes, gifts, and
" testimonials."
The rulers of Laos pay to the crown of Siam a tribute
of gold and silver "trees," rings set with gems, and chains
of solid gold. The trees, which appear to be composed
entirely of the precious metals, are really nothing more
than cylinders and tubes of tin, substantially gilt or
plated, designed to represent the graceful clove-tree in
digenous to that part of the country ; the leaves and
blossoms, however, are of solid gold and silver. Each tree
is planted in an artificial gilt mound, and is worth from
five hundred to seven hundred ticals, while the chains
and rings are decorated with large and pure rubies.
The raw silk, elephants' tusks, and other rare products
of Siam, are highly prized by the Mohammedan traders,
who compete one with another in shipping them for the
Bombay markets. They are usually put up at auction ;
292 THE KINGDOM OF SIAM.
and, strange to say, the auctioneers are women of the
royal harem, the favorite concubines of the First King.
The shrewd Moslem broker, turning a longing eye upon
the precious stores of the royal warehouses, employs his
wife, or a trusty slave, to approach this Nounnahal or
that Kose-in-bloom with presents, and promises of gen
erous premium to her whose influence shall procure for the
bidder the acceptance of his proposal. By a system of
secret service peculiar to these traders, the amount of the
last offer is easily discovered, and the new bidder " sees
that " (if I may be permitted to amuse myself with the
phraseology of the Mississippi bluff-player) and " goes " a
few ticals " better." There are always several enterpris
ing Stars of the Harem ready to vary the monotony by
engaging in this unromantic business ; and the agitation
among the " sealed " sisterhood, though by no means bois
terous, is lively, though all have tact to appear indifferent
in the presence of their awful lord. The meagreness of
the royal allowance of pin-money is the consideration
that renders the prize important in the eyes of each of
the competitors ; and yet it is strange, in all the feminine
vanity and vexation of spirit that the occasion engenders,
how little of jealous bitterness and heartburning is di
rected against the lucky lady. The competitors agree
upon a favorable opportunity to present the tenders of
their respective clients to his Majesty. Each selecting
the most costly and attractive of her bribes, and display
ing them to advantage on a tray of gold, lays the written
bid on the top ; or with a shrewd device of the maternal
instinct, so fertile in pretty tricks of artfulness, places it in
the hands of a pet child, who is taught to present it win-
ningly as the king descends to his midday meal. The
attention of his Majesty is attracted by the display of
showy toys ; he deigns to inquire as to the donors ; the
" sealed proposals " are respectfully, and doubtless with
THE KINGDOM OF SIAM. 293
more or less coquetry, pressed upon him ; and the matter
is then and there concluded, almost invariably in favor
of the highest bidder. This semi-romantic mode of traffic
was gravely encouraged by his late Majesty, for the bene
fit of his favorites of the harem ; and great store of prod
uce, of the finer varieties, was thus disposed of in the
palace.
The poll-tax on the Chinese, levied once in three years,
is paid in bullion.
The annual income of the public treasury rarely ex
ceeds the outgo ; but whatever the state of the exchequer,
and of the funds reserved for the service of the state,
the personal resources of the monarch are always most
abundant. Nor do the great sums lavished upon his
favorites and children deplete, in any respect, his vast treas
ures, because they are all supported by grants of land,
monopolies of market, special taxes, tithes, douceurs, and
other patrimonial or tributary provisions. A certain emol
ument is also derived from the valuable mines of the
country, though, poorly worked as they are, but small im
portance has as yet been ascribed to these as a source of
revenue ; yet the gold of Bhangtaphan is esteemed the
purest and most ductile in the world. Beside mines of
iron, antimony, gold, and silver, there are quarries of
white marble. The extraordinary number of idols and
works of art cast in metal seems to indicate that these
mines were once largely worked ; and it is believed that
the vast quantities of gold which for centuries has been
consumed in the construction of images and the adorn
ment of temples, pagodas, and palaces, were drawn from
them. The country abounds in pits, bearing marks of
great age ; and there are also remains of many furnaces,
which are said to have been abandoned in the wars with
Pegu. Mineral springs — copious and, no doubt, valu
able — are numerous in some parts of the country.
294 THE KINGDOM OF SIAM.
The exports of Siam are various and profitable ; and
of the raw materials, teak timber is entitled to the first
consideration. The domestic consumption of this most
useful wood in the construction of dwellings, sacred edi
fices, ships, and boats, is enormous ; yet the forests trav
ersed by the great rivers seem inexhaustible, and the
supply continues so abundant that the variations in the
price are very slight. The advantage the country must
derive from her extensive commerce in a commodity so
valuable may hardly be overrated.
Next in importance are the native sugars> rice, cotton,
and silk, which find their way in large quantities to the
markets of China and Hindostan. Among other articles
of crude produce may be mentioned ivory * (a single fine
tusk being often valued at five thousand dollars), wax,
lead, copper, tin, amber, indigo, tobacco, honey, and bird's-
nests. There are also precious stones of several varieties,
and the famous gold of Bhangtaphan. Forty different
kinds of rice are named, but these may properly be re
duced to four classes, — the Common or table, the Small-
grained or mountain, the Glutinous, and the Vermilion
rice. From the glutinous rice arrack is distilled. The
areca, or pinang-nut, and the betel, are used almost uni
versally, chewed with lime, the lime, — being dyed with
turmeric, which imparts to it a rich vermilion tint ; the
areca-nut is also used in dying cotton thread.
The characteristic traits of the Siamese Court are hau
teur, insolent indifference, and ostentation, the natural
features and expression of tyranny ; and every artifice
that power and opulence can devise is employed to inspire
the minds of the common people with trembling awe and
devout veneration for their sovereign master. Though the
late Supreme King wisely reformed certain of the stun
ning customs of the court with more modest innovations,
* In Siam reserved as a royal appropriation.
THE KINGDOM OF SI AM. 295
nevertheless he rarely went abroad without extrava
gant display, especially in his annual visitations to the
temples. These were performed in a style studiously
contrived to strike the beholder with astonishment and
admiration.
The royal state barge, one hundred cubits long, beside
being elaborately carved, and inlaid with bits of crystal,
porcelain, mother-of-pearl, and jade, is richly enamelled
and gilt. The stem, which rises ten or eleven feet from
the bows, represents the nagha mustakha sapta, the seven-
headed serpent or alligator. A phrasat, or elevated throne
(also termed p'hra-tlie-nany), occupies the centre, supported
by four pillars. The extraordinary beauty of the inlaying
of shells, mother-of-pearl, crystal, and precious stones of
every color, the splendor of the gilding, and the elegance
of the costly kinkob curtains with which it is hung,
combine to render this one of the most striking and
beautiful objects to be seen on the Meinam. The barge
is usually manned by one hundred and fifty men, their
paddles gilt and silver-tipped.
This government reproduces, in many of its shows of
power, pride, and ostentation, a tableau vivant of European
rule in the darker ages, when, on the decline of Eoman
dominance, the principles of feudal dependence were
established by barbarians from the North. Under such a
system, it is impossible to ascertain, or to represent by
any standards of currency, the amount of the royal reve
nues and treasures. But it is known that the riches of
the Siamese monarch are immense, and that a magnificent
share of the legal plunder drawn into the royal treasury
is sunk there, and never returns into circulation again.
The hoarding of money seems to be the cherished prac
tice of all Oriental rulers, and even a maxim of state
policy ; and that the general diffusion of property among
his subjects offers the only safe assurance of prosperity
296 THE KINGDOM OF SIAM.
for himself and stability for his throne is the last precept
of prudence an Asiatic monarch ever learns.
The armies of Siam are raised on the spur of the mo
ment, as it were, for any pressing emergency. When
troops are to be called out, a royal command, addressed
to all viceroys and governors, requires them to raise their
respective quotas, and report to a commander-in-chief at a
general rendezvous. These recruits are clothed, equipped
with arms and ammunition, and " subsisted " with daily ra
tions of rice, oil, etc., but are not otherwise paid. The small
standing army, which serves as the nucleus upon which
these irregulars are gathered and formed, consists of in
fantry, cavalry, elephant-riders, archers, and private body
guards, paid at the rate of from five to ten dollars a
month, with clothing and rations. The infantry are
armed with muskets and sabres ; the cavalry, with bows
and arrows as well as spears ; but the spear, which is from
six to seven feet long, is the favorite weapon of this arm
of the service, and they handle it with astonishing dex
terity. The king's private body-guards are well paid,
clothed, and quartered, having their stations and barracks
within the palace walls and near the most attractive
streets and avenues, while other troops are lodged out
side.
It is customary to detain the families of conscripts in
the districts to which they belong, as prisoners on parole,
- hostages for the good conduct of their young men in
the army ; and for the desertion or treachery of the sol
dier, his wife or children, mother or sisters, as the case
may be, are tortured, or even executed, without compunc
tion or remorse. The long and peaceful reign of the late
king, however, has almost effaced from the minds of the
youth of Siam the remembrance of such monstrous oppres
sions.
The Siamese are but indifferent sailors, their nautical
THE KINGDOM OF SIAM. 297
excursions being mainly confined to short coasting trips,
or boating in safe and familiar channels. The more ad
venturous export trade is carried on almost wholly by
foreigners. About one thousand war-boats constitute the
bulk of the navy. These are constructed from the solid
bole of the teak-tree, excavated partly with fire, partly
with the adze ; and, while they are commonly from eighty
to a hundred feet long, the breadth rarely exceeds eight or
nine feet, though the apparent width is increased by the
addition of a sort of light gallery. They are made to
carry fifty or sixty rowers, with short oars working on a
pivot. The prow, which is solid, has a flat terrace, on
which, for the king's up-country excursions, they mount
a small field-piece, a nine or a twelve pounder. There
are also several men-of-war belonging to the government,
built by European engineers.
The number of vessels in the merchant marine cannot
be great. Dwelling so long in peace and security at
home, the tastes and the energies of the Siamese people
have been confirmed, by their political circumstances, in
that inclination toward agricultural rather than com
mercial pursuits which their geographical conditions
naturally engender. The extreme fertility of the soil,
watered by innumerable streams, and intersected in every
direction by a network of capacious canals (of which, the
Klong Yai, Klong Bangkok-noi, and Klong P'hra-cha-dee,
are the most remarkable) ; the generating heats of the
climate ; the teeming plains of the upper provinces, bul
warked by mighty mountains ; and, above all, that mag
nificent mother, the Meinam, winding in her beauty and
bounty through a vast and lovely vale to the sea, in her
course subjecting all things to the enriching and adorning
influence of her touch, — all combine by their irresistible
inducements to determine the native to the tilling of the
O
ground.
13*
298 THE KINGDOM OF SI AM.
Nothing can be more delightful than an excursion
through the country immediately after the subsidence of
the floods. Then nature is draped in hues as charming as
they are various, from the palest olive to the liveliest
green ; broad fields wave with tall golden spires of grain,
or are dotted with tufted sheaves heavy with generous
crops ; the refreshed air is perfumed with the fragrance
of the orange, lemon, citron, and other tropical fruits and
flowers ; and on every side the landscape is a scene of
lovely meadows, alive with flocks and herds, and busy
with herdsmen, husbandmen, and gardeners.
The most considerable of the many canals by which
communication is maintained with all parts of the coun
try is Klong Yai, the Great Canal, supposed to have been
begun in the reign of Phya Tak. It is nearly a hundred
cubits deep, twenty Siamese fathoms broad, and forty
miles long. Bangkok has been aptly styled " the Venice
of the Orient " ; for not only the villages thickly stud
ding the banks of the Meinam, but the remoter hamlets
as well, even to the confines of the kingdom, have each
its own canals. In fact, the lands annually inundated by
the Mother of Waters are so extensive, and for the most
part lie so low, and the number of water-ducts, natural
and artificial, is so great, that of all the torrents that de
scend upon the country in the months of June, July, and
August (when the whole land is as a sea, in which towns
and villages show like docks connected by drawbridges,
with little islets between of groves and orchards, whose
tops alone are visible), not a tithe ever returns to the
ocean.
The modern bridges of Siam, which are mostly of iron
in the European style, are made to be drawn for the pas
sage of the King's barge, since the royal head may not
without desecration pass under anything trodden by the
foot of man. The more ancient bridges, however, are of
THE KINGDOM OF SIAM. 299
stone and brick ; and here and there are strange artificial
lakes, partly filled up with the debris of temples that
once stood on their banks. Of roads there are but few
that are good, and all are of comparatively recent con
struction.
XXIX.
THE EUINS OF CAMBODIA.* — AN EXCURSION
TO THE NAGHKON WATT.
OUR journey from Bangkok to Kabin derived its
memorable interest from those features and feelings
which join to compose the characteristic romance of
Eastern travel by unhackneyed ways, — the wild freedom
of the plain, the tortuous, suspicious mountain track, the
tangled jungle, the bewildering wastes and glooms of an
unexplored region, with their suggestions of peril and ad
venture, and especially that glorious participation in the
enlargement and liberty of an Eastern wanderer's life
which these afford. Once you begin to feel that, you will
be happy, whether on an elephant or in a buffalo-cart, —
the very privations and perils including a charm of ex
citement all unknown to the formal European tourist.
The rainbow mists of morning still lay low on the plain,
as yet unlifted by the breeze that, laden with odor and
song, gently rocked the higher branches in the forest, as
our elephants pressed on, heavily but almost noiselessly,
over a parti-colored carpet of wild-flowers. Strange birds
* The Cambodian was, without doubt, in its day, one of the most
powerful of the empires of the East. As to its antiquity, two opinions
prevail, — one ascribing to it a duration of 1, 300 years, the other of 2, 400.
The native historians reckon 2, 400 years from the building of the Nagh-
kon Watt, or Naghkon Ongkhoor ; but this computation, not agreeing
with the mythological traditions of the country, which date from the
Year of the World 205, is not accepted as authentic by the more learned
Cambodians.
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGHKON WATT. 301
darted from bough to bough among the wild myrtles and
limes, and great green and golden lizards gleamed through
the shrubbery as we approached Siemrtip.
The more extensive and remarkable ruins of Cambodia
seem concentrated in this part of the country, though
they are by no means confined to it, but are found widely
scattered over the neighboring territories.
From Sisuphon we diverged in a northeasterly direc
tion, and at evening found ourselves in the quaint, antique-
town of Phanomsok, half ruined and deserted, where the
remains of a magnificent palace can still be traced.
The country between Cambodia and Siam is an inclined
plane falling off to the sea, beginning from the Khoa Don
Keke, or highlands of Korat, which constitutes the first
platform of the terraces that gradually ascend to the
mountain chain of Laos, and thence to the stupendous
Himalayas.
Khoa Don Eeke (" the Mountain which Bears on the
Shoulders," the Cambodian Atlas) includes in its domain
the Dong Phya Fai (" Forest of the Lord of Fire "), whence
many tributary streams flow into the beautiful Pachim
Biver.
At sunrise next morning we resumed our journey, and
after a long day of toiling through treacherous marshes
and tangled brushwood came at sunset upon an object
whose presence there was a wonder, arid its past a puzzle,
— a ridge or embankment of ten or twelve feet elevation,
which, to our astonishment, ran high and dry through the
swampy lowlands. In the heart of an interminable forest
it stretches along one side of the tangled trail, in some
places walling it in, at others crossing it at right angles ;
now suddenly diving into the depths of the forest, now
reappearing afar off, as if to mock our cautious progress,
and invite us to follow it. The eye, wistfully pursuing
its eccentric sweep, suddenly loses it in impenetrable
302 THE 11UINS OF CAMBODIA.
shadows. There is not a vestige of any other ruin near
it, and the long lines it here and there shows, ghostly
white in the moonlight, seem like spectral strands of
sand.
Our guides tell us this isolated ridge was once the great
highway of ancient Cambodia, that it can be traced from
the neighborhood of Nohk Burree to Naghkon Watt, and
thence to the very heart of Cochin China ; and one as
sures us that no man has ever seen the end of it.
So on we went, winding our devious way over pathless
ground, now diving into shady valleys, now mounting to
sunny eminences where the breeze blew free and the eye
could range far and wide, but not to find aught that was
human. Gradually the flowering shrubs forsook us, and
dark forest trees pressed grimly around, as- we traversed
the noble stone bridges that those grand old Cambodians
loved to build over comparatively insignificant streams.
The moon, touching with fantastic light the crumbling
arches and imparting a charm of illusion to the scene,
the clear spangled sky, the startling voices of the night,
and the influence of the unknown, the mysterious, and
the weird, overcame us like a dream. Truly there is
naught of the commonplace or vulgar in this land of
ruins and legends, and the foretaste of the wonders we
were about to behold met our view in the great bridges.
Taphaii Hin (" the Stone Bridge ") and the finer and
more artistic Taphan Thevadah (" the Angel's Bridge ") are
both imposing works. Arches, still resting firmly on their
foundations, buttressed by fifty great pillars of stone, sup
port a structure about five hundred feet long and eighty
broad. The road-bed of these bridges is formed of im
mense blocks or beams of stone, laid one upon another, and
so adjusted that their very weight serves to keep the
arches firm.
In a clearing in the forest, near a rivulet called by the
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGHKON WATT. 303
Cambodians Sthicng Sinn (" Sufficient to our Need "), we
encamped ; and, having rested and supped, again followed
our guides over the foaming stream, and recrossed the
Stone Bridge on foot, marvelling at the work of a race
of whose existence the Western nations know nothing,
who have no name in history, yet who builded in a style
surpassing in boldness of conception, grandeur of propor
tions, and delicacy of design, the best works of the mod
ern world, — stupendous, beautiful, enduring !
The material is mostly freestone, but a flinty conglom
erate appears wherever the work is exposed to the action
of the water.
Formerly a fine balustrade crowned the bridge on both
sides, but it has been broken clown. The ornamental
parts of these massive structures seem to have been the
only portions the invading vandals of the time could
destroy.
The remains of the balustrade show that it consisted of
a series of long quarry stones, on the ridges of which
caryatidian pillars, representing the seven-headed serpent,
supported other slabs grooved along the rim to receive
semi-convex stones with arabesque sculptures, affording
a hint of ancient Cambodian art.
On the left bank we found the remains of a staircase
leading down to the water, not far from a spot where a
temple formerly stood.
Next morning we crossed the Taphan Teph, or Heav
enly Bridge, — like the Taphan Hiii and the Taphan
Thevadah a work of almost superhuman magnitude and
solidity.
Leaving the bridges, our native pilots turned off from
the ancient causeway to grope through narrow miry paths
in the jungle.
On the afternoon of the same day we arrived at an
other stone bridge, over the Paleng River. This, accord-
304 THE RUINS OF CAMBODIA.
ing to our guides, was abandoned by the builders, because
the country was invaded by the hostile hordes who de
stroyed Naghkon Watt. Slowly crumbling among the
wild plantains and the pagan lotoses and lilies, these
bridges seem to constitute the sole memorial, in the
midst of that enchanting desolation, of a once proud
and populous capital.
From the Paleng River, limpid and cheerful, a day's
journey brought us to the town of Siemrap ; and, after
an unnecessary delay of several hours, we started with
lighter pockets for the ruins of Naghkon Watt.
Naghkon, or Ongkoor, is supposed to have been the
royal city of the ancient kingdom of Cambodia, or Khai-
main, of which the only traditions that remain describe
in wild extravagances its boundless territory ; its princes
without number who paid tribute in gold, silver, and pre
cious stuffs ; its army of seventy thousand war elephants,
two hundred thousand horsemen, and nearly six millions
of foot soldiers ; and its royal treasure-houses covering
" three hundred miles of ground." In the heart of this
lonely region, in a district still bearing the name of Ong
koor, and quite apart from the ruined temples that abound
hard by, we found architectural remains of such exceed
ing grandeur, with ruins of temples and palaces which
must have been raised at so vast a cost of labor and treas
ure, that we were overwhelmed with astonishment and
admiration.
What manner of people were these ?
Whence came their civilization and their culture ?
And why and whither did they disappear from among
the nations of the earth ?
The site of the city is in itself unique. Chosen origi
nally for the strength of its position, it yet presents none
of the features which should mark the metropolis of a
powerful people. It seems to stand aloof from the world,
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGHKON ^ATT. 305
exempt from its passions and aspirations, and shunning
even its thrift. Confronting us with its towering portal,
overlaid with colossal hieroglyphics, the majestic ruin of
the watt stands like a petrified dream of some Michael
Angelo of the giants — more impressive in its loneliness,
more elegant and animated in its grace, than aught that
Greece and Rome have left us, and addressing us with a
significance all the sadder and more solemn for the deso
lation and barbarism which surround it.
Unhappily, the shocks of war, seconding the slowly
grinding mills of time, have left but few of these noble
monuments ; and slowly, but ruthlessly, the work of de
struction and decay goes on.
Vainly may we seek for any chronicle of the long line
of monarchs who must have swayed the sceptre of the
once powerful empire of Maha Naghkon. Only a vague
tradition has come down, of a celestial prince to whom
the fame of founding the great temple is supposed to be
long ; and of an Egyptian king, who, for his sacrilege, was
changed into a leper. An interesting statue, representing
the latter, still stands in one of the corridors, — some
what mutilated, but sufficiently well preserved to display
a marked contrast to the physical type of the present race
of Cambodians.
The inscriptions with which some of the columns are
covered are illegible ; and if you question the natives
as to the origin of Naghkon Watt, they will tell you
that it was the work of the Leper King, or of P'hra-Inn-
Suen, King of Heaven, or of giants, or that " it made
itself."
These magnificent edifices seem to have been designed
for places of worship rather than of royal habitation, for
nearly all are Buddhist temples.
The statues and sculptures on the walls of the outer
corridor are in alto relievo, and generally life-size. The
306 THE RUINS OF CAMBODIA.
statue of the Leper King, set up in a sort of pavilion, is
moderately colossal, and is seated in a tranquil and noble
attitude ; the head especially is a masterpiece, the feat
ures being classic and of manly beauty.
Approaching the temple of Ongkoor, the most beauti
ful and best preserved of these glorious remains, the
traveller is compensated with full measure of wonder and
delight for all the fatigues and hardships of his journey.
Complete as is the desolation, a strange air of luxury
hangs over all, as though the golden glow of sunshine
and the refreshing gloom were for the glory and the ease
of kings.
At each angle of the temple are two enormous lions,
hewn, pedestal and all, from a single block. A flight
of stone steps leads up to the first platform of terraces.
To reach the main entrance from the north staircase
we traverse a noble causeway, which midway crosses a
deep and wide moat that seems to surround the build
ing.
The main entrance is by a long gallery, having a su
perb central tower, with two others of less height on each
side. The portico of each of the three principal towers
is formed by four projecting columns, with a spacious
staircase between. At either extremity are similar por
ticos, and beyond these is a very lofty door, or gateway,
covered with gigantic hieroglyphs, where gods and war
riors hang as if self-supported between earth and sky.
Then come groves of columns that in girth and height
might rival the noblest oaks. Every pillar and every
part of the wall is so crowded with sculptures that the
whole temple seems hung with petrified tapestry.
On the west side, the long gallery is flanked by two
rows of almost square columns. The blank windows are
cut out of the wall, and finished with stone railings or
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGIIKOX WATT. 307
balconies of curiously twisted columns ; and the different
compartments are equally covered with sculptures of sub
jects taken from the Kamayana. Here are Lakshman
and Hanuman leading their warriors against Eawana, —
some with ten heads, others with many arms. The mon
keys are building the stone bridge over the sea. llama
is seen imploring the aid of the celestial protector, who sits
on high, in grand and dreamy contemplation. Kama's
father is challenging the enemy, while Eawana is engaged
in combat with the leader of the many-wheeled chariots.
There are many other figures of eight-handed deities;
and all are represented with marvellous skill in grouping
and action.
The entire structure is roofed with tiers of hewn stone,
which is also sculptured ; and remains of a ceiling may
still be traced. The symmetrical wings terminate in
three spacious pavilions and this imposing colonnade,
which, by its great length, height, and harmonious pro
portions, is conspicuous from a great distance, and forms
an appropriate vestibule to so grand a temple.
Traversing the building, we cross another and finer
causeway, formed of great blocks of stone carefully joined,
and bordered with a handsome balustrade, partly in ruins,
very massive, and covered with sculptures.
On either side are six great platforms, with flights of
steps ; and on each we find remains of the seven-headed
serpent, — in some parts mutilated, but on the whole suffi
ciently preserved to show distinctly the several heads,
some erect as if guarding the entrance, others drawn back
in a threatening attitude. A smaller specimen is nearly
perfect and very beautiful.
We passed into an adytum, wardered by gigantic effi
gies whose mystic forms we could hardly trace ; above us
that ponderous roof, tier on tier of solid stone, upheld by
enormous columns, and incrusted with strange carvings.
308 THE RUINS OF CAMBODIA.
Everywhere we found fresh objects of wonder, and each
new spot, as we explored it, seemed the greatest wonder
of all.
In the centre of the causeway are two elegant pavil
ions with porticos ; and at the foot of the terrace we
come upon two artificial lakes, which in the dry season
must be supplied either by means of a subterranean aque
duct or by everlasting springs.
A balustrade not unlike that of the causeway, erected
upon a sculptured basement, starts from the foot of the
terrace and runs quite round the temple, with arms, or
branches, descending at regular intervals.
The terrace opens into a grand court, crowded with a
forest of magnificent columns with capitals, each hewn
from a single block of stone. The basement, like every
other part of the building, is ornamented in varied and
animated styles ; and every slab of the vast pile is cov
ered with exquisite carvings representing the lotos, the
lily, and the rose, with arabesques wrought with the
chisel with astonishing taste and skill. The porticos
are supported by sculptured columns ; and the terraces,
which form a cross, have three flights of steps, at each of
which are four colossal lions, reclining upon pedestals.
The temple is thus seen to consist of three distinct
parts, raised in terraces one above the other. The central
tower of the five within the inner circle forms an octagon,
with four larger and four smaller sides. On each of the
four larger faces is a colossal figure of Buddha, which
overlooks from its eminence the surrounding country.
This combination of four Buddhas occurs frequently
among the ruins of Cambodia. The natives call it Phra
Hook Buln (" Lord of Four Faces "), though not only the
face, but the whole body, is fourfold.
A four-faced god of majestic proportions presides
over the principal entrance to the temple, and is called
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGHKON WATT. 309
Bhrama, or, by corruption, Phrdm, signifying divine pro
tection.
As the four cardinal points of the horizon naturally
form a cross, called "phram," so we invariably find the
cross in the plan of these religious monuments of ancient
Cambodia, and even in the corridors, intersecting each
other at right angles.* These corridors are roofed with
great blocks of stone, projecting over each other so as
to form an arch, and, though laid without cement, so
accurately adjusted as to leave scarcely a trace of the
joinings. The galleries of the temple also form a rectan
gle. The ceilings are vaulted, and the roofs supported
by double rows of columns, cut from a single block.
There are five staircases on the west side, five on the
east, and three on each of the remaining sides. Each of
the porticos has three distinct roofs raised one above the
other, thus nobly contributing to the monumental effect
of the architecture.
In some of the compartments the entire space is occu
pied with representations of the struggle between angels
and giants for possession of the snake-god, Sarpa-deva,
more commonly called PJiya Naylik. The angels are seen
dragging the seven-headed monster by the tail, while the
giants hold fast by the heads. In the midst is Vishnu,
riding on the world-supporting turtle.
The most interesting of all the sculptures at Xaghkon
Watt are those that appear to represent a procession of
warriors, some on foot, others mounted on horses, tigers,
birds, and nondescript creatures, each chief on an ele
phant at the head of his followers. I counted more than
a thousand figures in one compartment, and observed
with admiration that the artist had succeeded in portray
ing the different races in all their physical characteristics,
* The cross is the distinctive character and sign for the Doctors of
Reason m the primitive Buddhism of Kasyapa.
310 THE RUINS OF CAMBODIA.
from the flat-nosed savage, and the short-haired and broad-
faced Laotian, to the more classic profile of the Eajpoot,
armed with sword and shield, and the bearded Moor. A
panorama in life-size of the diverse nationalities, it yet
displays, in the physical conformation of each race, a re
markable predominance of the Hellenic type — not in the
features and profiles alone, but equally in the fine atti
tudes of the warriors and horsemen.
The bass-reliefs of another peristyle represent a combat
between the king of apes and the king of angels, and if
not the death, at least the defeat, of the former. On an
adjoining slab is a boat filled with stalwart rowers with
long beards, — a group very admirable in attitude and
expression.. In fact, it is in these bass-reliefs that the
greatest delicacy of touch and the finest finish are mani
fest.
On the south side we found representations of an an
cient military procession. The natives interpret these as
three connected allegories, symbolizing heaven, earth, and
hell ; but it is more probable that they record the history
of the methods by which the savage tribes were reclaimed
by the colonizing foreigners, and that they have an inti
mate connection with the founding of these monuments.
One compartment represents an ovation : certain person
ages are seen seated on a dais, surrounded by many women,
with caskets and fans in their hands, while the men bring
flowers and bear children in their arms.
In another place, those who have rejected the new
religion and its priests are precipitated into a pit of
perdition, in the midst of which sits the judge, with his
executioners, with swords in their hands, while the guilty
are dragged before him by the hair and feet. In the
distance is a furnace, and another crowd of " infidels "
under punishment. But the converted (the " born again ")
are conducted into palaces, which are represented on the
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGHKON WATT. 311
upper compartments. In these happier figures the feat
ures as well as the attitudes denote profound repose, and
in the faces of many of the women and children one may
trace lines of beauty and tender grace.
On the east side a number of men, in groups on either
hand, are in the act of dragging in contrary directions the
great seven-headed dragon. One mighty angel watches
the struggle with interest, while many lesser angels float
overhead. Below is a great lake or ocean, in which are
fishes, aquatic animals, and sea-monsters.
On another panel an angel is seated on a mountain
(probably Mount Meru), and other angels, with several
heads, assist or encourage those who are contending for
possession of the serpent. To the right are another
triumphal procession and a battle scene, with warriors
mounted on elephants, unicorns, griffins, eagles with pea
cocks' tails, and other fabulous creatures, while winged
dragons draw the chariots.
On the north side is another battle-piece, the most con
spicuous figure being that of a chief mounted on the
shoulders of a giant, who holds in each hand the foot of
another fighting giant. Near the middle of this peristyle
is a noble effigy of a royal conqueror, with long flowing
beard, attended by courtiers with hands clasped on their
breasts. These figures are all in alto relievo, and well exe
cuted.
The greater galleries are connected with two smaller
ones, which in turn communicate with two colonnades in
the form of a cross ; the roofs of these are vaulted. Four
rows of square columns, each still hewn from a single
block, extend along the sides of the temple. These are
covered with statues and bass-reliefs, many of the former
being in a state of dilapidation which, considering the
extreme hardness of the stone, indicates great age, while
others are true chefs-d'oeuvre.
312 THE RUINS OF CAMBODIA.
The entire structure forms a square, and every part is
admirable both in general effect and detail. There are
twelve superb staircases, the four in the middle having
from fifty to sixty steps, each step a single slab. At
each angle is a tower. The central tower, larger and
higher than the others, communicates with the lateral
galleries by colonnades, covered, like the galleries them
selves with a double roof. Opposite each of the twelve
staircases is a portico with windows resembling in form
and dimensions those described above.
In front of each colonnade connected with the tower is
a dark, narrow chapel, to which there is an ascent of eight
steps ; each of these chapels (which do not communicate
with each other) contains a gigantic idol, carved in the
solid wall, and at its feet another, of the same proportions,
sleeping.
This mighty pile, the wondrous Naghkon Watt, is
nearly three miles in circumference ; the walls are from
seventy to eighty feet high, and twenty feet thick.
We wandered in astonishment, and almost with awe,
through labyrinths of courts, cloisters, and chambers, en
countering at every turn some new marvel, unheard of,
undreamed of, until then. Even the walls of the outer
courts were sculptured with whole histories of wars and
conquests, in forms that seemed to live and fight again.
Prodigious in size and number are the blocks of stone
piled in those walls and towers. We counted five thou
sand and three hundred solid columns. What a mighty
host of builders must that have been ! And what could
have been their engines and their means of transport,
seeing that the mountains from which the stone was
quarried are nearly two days' journey from the temple ?
All the mouldings, sculptures, and bass-reliefs seem to
to have been executed after the walls and pillars were in
their places ; and everywhere the stones are fitted together
AN EXCURSION TO THE NAGHKON WATT. 313
in a manner so perfect that the joinings are not easy to
find. There is neither mortar nor mark of the chisel;
the surfaces are as smooth as polished marble.
On a fallen column, under a lofty and most beautiful
arch, we sat, and rested our weary, excited eyes on the
wild but quiet landscape below ; then slowly, reluctantly
departed, feeling that the world contains no monument
more impressive, more inspiring, than, in its desolation,
and yet wondrous preservation, the temple of Maha
Naghkon Watt.
Next morning our elephants bore us back to Siemrap
through an avenue of colonnades similar to that by which
we had come ; and as we advanced we could still descry
other gates and pillars far in the distance, marking the
line of some ancient avenue to this amazing temple.
XXX.
THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKOK*
MANY hundreds of thousands of years ago, when
P'hra Atheitt, the Sun-god, was nearer to earth than
he is now, and the city of the gods could be seen with mor
tal eyes, — when the celestial sovereigns, P'hra Indara and
P'hra Insawara, came down from Meru, the sacred moun
tain, to hold high converse with mortal kings, sages, and
heroes, — when the moon and the stars brought tidings
of good-will to men, and wisdom flourished, love and hap
piness were spread abroad, and sorrow, suffering, disease,
old age, and death were almost banished, — there lived in
Thaisiampois a mighty monarch whose years could hardly
be numbered, so many were they and so long. And yet
he was not old ; such were the warmth and strength and
vigor imparted by the near glories of the P'hra Atheitt,
that the span of human life was lengthened unto a thou
sand, and even fifteen hundred years. The days of the
King Sudarsana had been prolonged beyond those of the
oldest of his predecessors, for the sake of his exceeding
wisdom and goodness. But yet this King was troubled ;
he had no son, and the thought of dying without leaving
behind him one worthy to represent his name and race
was grievous to him. So, by the advice of the wise men
of his kingdom, he caused prayers and offerings to be
made in all the temples, and took to wife the beautiful
Princess Thawadee.
* Translated from a MS. presented to the author by the Supreme King
of Siam.
THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON. 31 0
At that very time P'hra Indara, ruler of the highest
heaven,, dreamed a dream ; and behold ! in his sleep a
costly jewel fell from his mouth to the lower earth ;
whereat P'hra Indara was troubled. Assembling all the
hosts of heaven, the angels, and the genii, he showed
them his dream, but they could not interpret it. Last of
all, he told it to his seven sons ; but from them likewise
its meaning was hidden. A second time P'hra Indara
dreamed, and yet a third time, that a more and more
costly jewel had fallen from his lips ; and at last, when
he awoke, the interpretation was revealed to his own
thought, — that one of his sons should condescend to
the form of humanity, and dwell on the earth, and be a
great teacher of men.
Then the King of Heaven imparted to the celestial
princes the meaning of the threefold vision, and de
manded which of them would consent to become man.
The divine princes heard, and answered not a word ; till
the youngest and best-beloved of Heaven opened his lips
and spake, saying : " Hear, 0 my Lord and Father ! I have
yearned toward the race thou hast created out of the fire
and flame of thy breast and the smoke of thy nostrils.
Let me go unto them, that I may teach them the wisdom
of truth."
Then P'hra Indara gave him leave to depart on his mis
sion of love ; and all the hosts of heaven, knowing that
he should never more gladden their hearts with his pres
ence, accompanied him, sorrowful, to the foot of Mount
Mem; and immediately a blazing star shot from the
mount, and burst over the palace of Thaisiampois.
That night the gracious Princess Thawadee conceived
and became with child, and the P'hra Somannass was no
longer a prince of the highest heaven.
The Princess Thawadee had been the only and darling
daughter of a mighty king, and still mourned her separa-
316 THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON.
tion from her beloved sire. Her only solace was to sit in
the phrasat of the Grand Palace, and look with longing
toward her early home. Here, day after day, she sat with
her maidens, weaving flowers, and singing low the songs
of her childhood. When this became known abroad
among the multitude, they gathered from every side to
behold one so famed for her goodness and beauty.
Thus by degrees her interest was aroused. She became
thoughtful for her people, and presently found happiness
in dispensing food, raiment, and comfort to the poor who
flocked to see her.
One day, as she was reposing in the porch after her
customary benefactions, a cloud of birds, flying eastward,
fell dead as they passed over the phrasat. The sages
and soothsayers of the court were terrified. What might
the omen be ? Long and anxious were their counsels,
and grievous their perturbations one with another ; until
at last an aged warrior, who had conquered many armies
and subjugated kingdoms, declaring that as faithful ser
vants they should lay the weighty matter before their
lord, bade all the court follow him, and approached his
sovereign, saying : —
" Long live P'hra Chow P'hra Sudarsana, lord and king
of our happy land, wherefrom sorrow and suffering and
death are wellnigh banished ! Let him investigate with
a true spirit and a clear mind the matter we bring for
judgment, even though it be to the tearing out of his
own heart and casting it away from him."
" Speak," said the King, " and fear not ! Has it ever
been thought that evil is dearer unto me than good ? Even
to the tearing out of my heart and casting it to dogs
shall justice be rendered in the land."
Then the sages, soothsayers, and warriors spake as with
one voice : " It is well known unto the lord our King,
that the Queen, our lovely lady Thawadee, is with child.
THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON". 317
But what manner of birth is this that she has conceived,
in that it has already brought grief and death into the
land ? For as the Queen sat in the porch of the temple,
a great flight of birds that hastened, thirsty, toward the
valleys of the east, when they would have passed over the
phrasat were struck dead, as by an unseen spirit of mis
chief. Let the King search this matter, and put away
the strange thing of evil out of our land, lest it make a
greater sorrow."
When the King heard these words, he was sore smitten,
and hung down his head, and knew not what to say ; for
the Queen, so gentle and beautiful, was very dear to him.
But, remembering his royal word, he shook off his grief
and took counsel with his astrologers, who had foretold
that the unborn prince would prove either a glorious
blessing or a dire curse to the land. And now, by the
awful omen of the birds, they declared that the Queen
had conceived the evil spirit Kala Mata, and that she
must be put to death, she and the fiend with her.
Then the King in council commanded that the sweet
young Thawadee should be set upon a floating raft, and
given to the mercy of winds and waves.
But the brave chief who should have executed the
sentence, overcome on beholding her beauty and inno
cence, interceded for her with the council ; and it was
finally decreed that, for pity's sake, and because the Queen
was unconscious of any evil, she should not be slain,
but " put away," after the dreadful birth. To this the
stricken monarch thankfully agreed.
In clue time the Queen was delivered of a male child,
so beautiful that it filled all beholders with delight. His
eyes were as sunshine, his forehead like the glow of the
full moon, his lips like clustered roses, and his cry like
the melody of many instruments ; and the Queen loved
him, and comforted herself with his beauty.
318 THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON.
When the mother was strong again, the infant prince
being then about a month old, the sentence of the council
was carried into effect, and the poor princess and her
child were banished forever from the beloved land of
Thaisiampois.
Clasping her baby to her breast, she went forth, terrified
and stunned. On and on, not knowing whither, she wan
dered, pressing her sleeping babe to her bosom, and moan
ing to the great gods above.
Then P'hra Indara, king of highest heaven, came down
to earth, assumed the form and garb of a Bhramin, and fol
lowed her silently, shortening the miles and smoothing
the rough places, until she reached the bank of a deep
and rapid stream. Here, as she sat down, faint and foot
sore, to nurse her babe, there came to her a grave and
venerable pilgrim, who gently questioned her sorrows and
comforted her with thrilling words, saying her child was
born to bring peace and happiness to earth, and not trouble
and death.
Quickly Thawadee dried her tears, and consented to
be led by the good old man, who had come to her as if
from heaven. From under his garment he produced a
shell filled with food from paradise, of which she partook
with ecstasy ; and gave her to drink water from everlast
ing springs, that overflowed her soul with perfect peace.
Then he led her to a mountain, and prepared in the cleft
of a rock a hiding-place for her and her child, and left
her with a promise of quick return.
For fifty years she dwelt in the cave, knowing neither
trouble nor weariness nor hunger, nor any of the ills of
life. The young Somannass, as the good Bhramin had
named him, grew to be a youth of wondrous beauty. The
melody of his voice tamed the wild creatures of the forest,
and charmed even the seven-headed dragons of the lake
in which his mother bathed him every morning. Then
THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON. 310
again P'hra Indara appeared to them in the form and
garb of the aged Bhramin ; and he rejoiced in the strength
and beauty of the young Somannass, and his heart yearned
after his beloved son. But, hiding his emotion, he held
pleasant converse with the Queen, and begged to be per
mitted to take the boy away with him for a season.
She consented ; and instantly, as in a flash of lightning,
he transported the prince into the highest heaven, and
Somannass found himself seated on a glorious throne by
the side of P'hra Indara the Divine, before whom the
hosts of heaven bowed in homage.
Here he was initiated in all the mysteries of life and
death, with all wisdom and foresight. His celestial royal
father showed him the stars coursing hither and thither
on their errands of love and mercy ; showed him comets
with tails of fire flashing and whizzing through the cen
turies, spreading confusion and havoc in their path ;
showed him the spirits of rebellion and crime transfixed
by the spears of the Omnipotent. He heard the music of
the spheres, he tasted heavenly food, and drank of the
river that flows from the footstool of the Most Highest.
And so he forgot the forlorn Queen, his mother, and
desired to return to earth no more.
Then P'hra Indara laid his hand upon the brow of the
lad, and showed him the generations yet to come, rejoic
ing in his prayers and precepts ; and Somannass, behold
ing, stretched his arms to the earth again. And P'hra
Indara promised to build him a palace hardly less grand
and fair than the heavenly abode, a temple which should
be the wonder of the world, a stupendous and everlasting
monument of his love to men.
So Somannass returned to the Queen, his mother ; and
P'hra Indara sent down myriads of angels, with Phya
Kralewana, chief of angels, to build a dwelling fit for the
heavenly prince. In one night it was done, and the
320 THE LEGEND OF THE MAIIA NAGHKON.
rising sun shone on domes like worlds and walls like
armies. And because the seven-headed serpent, Phya
Naghk, had shown the way to the mines of gold and
silver and iron, and the quarries of marble and granite,
the grateful builders laid the sign of the serpent on the
foundations, terraces, and bridges ; but on the walls they
left the effigy of the Queen Thawadee, the beautiful and
bountiful lady.
Then swift-winged angels flew to heaven, and, returning,
brought fruits and flowers the most curious and exquisite ;
and immediately there bloomed a garden there, of such
ravishing loveliness and perfume that the gods themselves
delighted to visit it. Also they filled the great stables
with white elephants and chargers. And then the an
gels transported Thawadee and Somannass to their new
abode, the fame of which was so spread abroad that the
great King Sudarsana, with all his court, arid followers
without number, and all his army, came to see it. And
great was their astonishment to find again the fair and
gentle Thawadee, who thus was reunited to her husband ;
and he took up his abode with her, and they lived together
in love.
But the Prince Somannass built temples, and preached,
and taught the people, and healed their infirmities, and
led them in the paths of virtue and truth.
And the fame of his wisdom and goodness flew through
all the lands, so that many kings became willing vassals
unto him ; but there came from a far-off country, where
the heavens drop no rain, but where one great river sud
denly floods the plains and then shrinks back into itself
like a living thing, a king of lofty stature and exceeding
craft. And the Prince Somannass was gracious toward
him, and showed him many favors. But his heart was
black and bad, and he would have turned the pure heart
of the prince to worship the dragon and other beasts ;
THE LEGEND OF THE MAHA NAGHKON. 321
wherefore Somannass changed him into a leper, and cast
him out of his palace, and caused a stone statue to be
made of him, which stands to this day, a warning to all
tempters and evil-doers. And he caused the face of the
great P'hra Indara to be carved on the north and on the
south and on the east and on the west — so that all
men might know the true God, who is God alone in
heaven, Sevarg-Savan !
THE END.
Cambridge : Electrotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co.
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