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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Siam and Laos - as seen by our American Missionaries - -Author: Various - -Release Date: November 25, 2020 [EBook #63879] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIAM AND LAOS *** - - - - -Produced by Carol Brown, Brian Wilson, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: SIAM AND LAOS] - - - - -[Illustration: HIS SUPREME MAJESTY, CHULALANGKORN I., KING OF SIAM. - -_Frontispiece._] - - - - -SIAM AND LAOS, - -AS SEEN BY - -OUR AMERICAN MISSIONARIES. - - -“Siam has not been disciplined by English and French guns, like China, -but the country has been opened by missionaries.”――_Remark of His -Grace the late Ex-Regent of Siam._ - - -FULLY ILLUSTRATED. - - - - -PHILADELPHIA: - -PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, - -No. 1334 CHESTNUT STREET. - - - - -COPYRIGHT, 1884, BY - -THE TRUSTEES OF THE - -PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. - - - - -_ALL RIGHTS RESERVED._ - - - - -WESTCOTT & THOMSON, - -_Stereotypers and Electrotypers, Philada._ - - - - -PREFACE. - - -This volume is a response to calls for information on Siam and Laos. A -score of missionaries have contributed chapters. Some have written -amidst conflicting claims of the crowded field-life; others, during -brief visits to the home-land; several are children of missionaries -and were born in Indo-China; others are noble pioneer workers, whose -long years of service abroad are now ended. A few of the chapters -originally appeared in a missionary periodical. Two of the writers -have “entered into rest.” The editor is much indebted also to the -standard works of Pallegoix, Bowring, Crawford, Mouhot and several -more recent travelers, to geographical papers and official reports, -and to valuable original data furnished by Dr. House, Dr. Cheek and -others. - -Adaptation and necessary condensation of the information thus gathered -make special credit often impossible, but doubtful points have been -verified by reference to competent authority, so far as practicable. - -The contributions of our missionaries have special value. For years -they have been brought into close contact with the people in their -homes, schools, wats and markets, mingling as honored guests in social -gatherings and at official ceremonials, enjoying full opportunity of -studying the natives at work, at play and at worship. As teachers, -physicians, translators and trusted counselors they are recognized as -public benefactors by the king and many high officials. Siam owes the -introduction of printing, European literature, vaccination, modern -medical practice, surgery and many useful mechanical appliances to our -American missionaries. They have stimulated philosophical inquiry, -paved the way for foreign intercourse with civilized nations, given a -great shock to the grosser forms of idolatry among the more -enlightened, leavened the social and intellectual ideas of the “Young -Siam” party, and, almost imperceptibly, but steadily, undermined the -old hopeless Buddhist theories with the regenerating force of gospel -truth. - -The young king publicly testified on a late occasion: “The American -missionaries have lived in Siam a long time; they have been noble men -and women, and have put their hearts into teaching the people, old and -young, that which is good, and also various arts beneficial to my -kingdom and people. Long may they live, and never may they leave us!” - -May this volume aid in arousing a more intelligent and generous -interest in this field――the sacred trust of our American Presbyterian -Church; may it promote a truer sense of the heroic sacrifices, the -patient and multiplied labors, of the noble band who for the past half -century have toiled and waited in hope for the spiritual regeneration -of the Siamese and Laos! - - SCHENECTADY, May, 1884. - - N. B. Uniformity in the spelling of Siamese and Laos proper - names is not yet attainable. Different ears catch the - foreign sounds and transliterate them differently, giving an - endless variation. Thus the single city which we give as - Cheung Mai, following Dr. Cheek, may be found in books and - maps as Cheng Mai, Cheang Mai, Zimma, Chang Mai, etc. To - ascertain the pronunciation in such cases, see what one - pronunciation can be made to cover all of these spellings. - It is hoped that the present volume is a step in the - direction of a correct transliteration of Siamese names. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - PART I. - - SIAM. - - - CHAPTER I. - PAGE - THE INDO-CHINESE PENINSULA. _An Introductory Sketch._ 15 - - CHAPTER II. - - SIGHT-SEEING IN BANGKOK. _Mrs. S. R. House, formerly - of Bangkok._ 81 - - CHAPTER III. - - TOURING IN SIAM. _Mrs. S. R. House, formerly of Bangkok._ 96 - - CHAPTER IV. - - IN AND ABOUT PETCHABUREE. _Miss Sarah Coffman, Petchaburee._ 112 - - CHAPTER V. - - ANIMALS OF SIAM. _Mrs. S. R. House, Bangkok._ 120 - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE CHINESE IN SIAM. _Mrs. N. A. McDonald, Bangkok._ 145 - - - PART II. - - VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LIFE. - - CHAPTER VII. - - A SIAMESE WEDDING. _Mrs. J. W. Van Dyke, Petchaburee._ 162 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - HOUSEKEEPING IN SIAM. _Miss M. L. Cort, Petchaburee._ 175 - - CHAPTER IX. - - CHILD-LIFE IN SIAM. _Miss H. H. McDonald, Bangkok._ 184 - - CHAPTER X. - - FIRST HAIR-CUTTING OF A YOUNG SIAMESE. - _Samuel R. House, M. D., Bangkok._ 193 - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE SCHOOLS OF SIAM. _Mrs. S. G. McFarland, Bangkok._ 206 - - CHAPTER XII. - - HOLIDAYS IN SIAM. _Mrs. S. R. House, Bangkok._ 224 - - CHAPTER XIII. - - A GAMBLING ESTABLISHMENT. - _The late D. Bradley, M. D., Bangkok._ 233 - - CHAPTER XIV. - - SIAMESE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. - _E. A. Sturge, M. D., Petchaburee._ 236 - - CHAPTER XV. - - CHOLERA-TIMES IN BANGKOK. _Samuel R. House, M.D._ 241 - - CHAPTER XVI. - - SIAMESE CUSTOMS FOR THE DYING AND DEAD. - _The late D. Bradley, M. D., of Bangkok._ 247 - - CHAPTER XVII. - - THE WATS OF SIAM. _A Compilation._ 269 - - - PART III. - - HISTORICAL SKETCHES. - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SIAM. - _Rev. Eugene P. Dunlap, Petchaburee._ 304 - - CHAPTER XIX. - - MISSIONARY LADIES IN THE KING’S PALACE. - _Mrs. Mattoon, formerly of Bangkok._ 320 - - CHAPTER XX. - - CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY THE SUPREME KING OF SIAM. - _Rev. N. A. McDonald, Bangkok._ 338 - - CHAPTER XXI. - - HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS IN SIAM AND LAOS. - _Samuel R. House, M. D., Bangkok._ 351 - - - PART IV. - - LAOS. - - CHAPTER XXII. - - LAOS LAND AND LIFE. _Mrs. S. C. Perkins, Philadelphia._ 419 - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - FROM BANGKOK TO CHEUNG MAI. - _Mrs. Jonathan Wilson, Cheung Mai._ 460 - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - RECOLLECTIONS OF CHEUNG MAI. - _Miss Emelie McGilvary, Cheung Mai._ 479 - - CHAPTER XXV. - - A DAY AT CHEUNG MAI. _Mrs. Jonathan Wilson, Cheung Mai._ 491 - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - A LAOS CABIN. _Rev. Jonathan Wilson, Cheung Mai._ 497 - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - SUPERSTITIONS OF THE LAOS. _Dr. and Mrs. Cheek, Cheung Mai._ 504 - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - TREATMENT OF THE SICK. _M. R. Cheek, M. D., Cheung Mai._ 511 - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - A TOUR IN THE LAOS COUNTRY. - _The late G. W. Vrooman, M. D., Cheung Mai._ 525 - - CHAPTER XXX. - - CHINA TO BRITISH INDIA, VIA CHEUNG MAI. - _M. A. Cheek, M. D., Cheung Mai._ 543 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - HIS SUPREME MAJESTY, CHULALANGKORN I., KING OF SIAM. _Frontispiece._ - BURMESE TEMPLE 23 - RUINS OF A PAGODA AT AYUTHIA 29 - SIAMESE GENTLEMAN IN MODERN COURT-DRESS 32 - SIAMESE LADY IN MODERN COURT-DRESS 33 - VIEW OF PAKNAM, ON THE MENAM 37 - PORT OF CHANTABOON 41 - LION ROCK, AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PORT OF CHANTABOON 44 - TYPES OF WOMEN OF FARTHER INDIA 57 - SCENE ON AN ORIENTAL RIVER 65 - THE BREAD-FRUIT 72 - THE LOTUS 74 - BIRD OF PARADISE 77 - MONKEYS PLAYING WITH A CROCODILE 79 - BANGKOK, ON THE MENAM 83 - HOUSE-SPARROW 84 - FLOATING STORES AT BANGKOK 89 - MISSIONARY-BOAT FOR TOURING IN SIAM 97 - PRABAT 103 - HOUSE AT PETCHABUREE 113 - VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS OF PETCHABUREE 116 - MONKEYS 121 - JAVA SPARROWS 122 - THE COBRA 123 - HUNTING THE CROCODILE 127 - ELEPHANTS AT HOME 129 - AN ELEPHANT PLOUGHING 131 - THE WHITE ELEPHANT 141 - HOME OF RICH CHINAMAN 146 - CHINESE BOAT-PEOPLE 151 - CHINESE CEMETERY 152 - PAPER PRAYERS 155 - PARLOR OF CHINESE HOUSE 156 - MISSION-HOUSE 171 - SIAMESE LADIES DINING 179 - A YOUNG SIAMESE PRINCE 189 - A CHINESE STREET-SHOW 191 - REMOVAL OF THE TUFT OF A YOUNG SIAMESE 195 - A SCHOOL IN SIAM 215 - A FEW OF THE CHILDREN OF THE LATE FIRST KING OF SIAM 223 - CARRYING THE KING TO THE TEMPLE 231 - SIAMESE ACTRESS 234 - CREMATION TEMPLE: A TEMPORARY BUILDING 251 - TOMB OF A BONZE 263 - BANYAN TREE 270 - SIAMESE TEMPLE 271 - TEMPLE AT AYUTHIA 275 - MONASTERY OF WAT SISAKET 277 - BRASS IDOL IN A TEMPLE AT BANGKOK 279 - THE GREAT TOWER OF THE PAGODA WAT CHEUG 283 - BUDDHIST PRIEST 285 - BUDDHIST PRIESTS GATHERING FOOD 295 - RUINS OF A TEMPLE AND STATUE AT AYUTHIA 303 - ATTACHÉ OF SIAMESE EMBASSY: COURT-COSTUME IN 1883 313 - THE LATE FIRST KING AND QUEEN 323 - SOMDETCH CHOWFA CHULALANGKORN 339 - HALL OF AUDIENCE, PALACE OF BANGKOK 341 - BRAHMAN AT WORSHIP 345 - CORONATION OF A LAOS KING 421 - A LAOS FUNERAL 429 - TAPPING THE BORASSUS PALM 449 - A LAOS HOME 499 - CAMPING IN A LAOS FOREST 529 - - - - -SIAM AND LAOS. - - - - -PART I. - -SIAM. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -_THE INDO-CHINESE PENINSULA._ - - -When about to visit a foreign country the prudent traveler is careful -to seek in guidebooks and from maps some data in regard to its -position, prominent features and relation to adjacent regions. Such -information adds interest to each stage of his journey. Climbing a -mountain, he overlooks two kingdoms. Such a valley opens into a rich -mining district; the highlanders of that range are descendants of the -original lords of the soil; the navigability of this river is of -commercial importance as a possible trade-route. - -In like manner, bold outlines of the whole peninsula furnish the best -introduction to a careful study of Central Indo-China, showing the -trade-connection of Northern Laos with Burmah and the richest mining -province of China, and the relation of Siamese progress to certain -Asiatic commercial problems. New views also are thus gained of the -great work actually accomplished by our American missionaries for -science and civilization in this corner of the globe during their -self-imposed exile of half a century. - -Indo-China is the south-east corner of Asia, a sharply-defined, -two-pronged peninsula outjutting from China just below the Tropic of -Cancer, its long Malayan arm almost touching the equator, bounded -east, south and west by water. Southward, the Eastern Archipelago -stretches toward Australia, “a kind of Giants’ Causeway by means of -which a mythological Titan might have crossed from one continent to -another.” - -Along the north the extreme south-west angle of the Celestial Empire, -by name Yunnan, lies in immediate contact with the Burmese, the Laos -and the Tonquinese frontiers, whence the main rivers of the peninsula -divide their streams. - -YUNNAN may be regarded as a lower terrace projecting from the giant -Thibetan plateau――an extensive, uneven table-land, separated for the -most part by mountains from contiguous regions. The northern portion -is a confused tangle of lofty ranges, with peaks rising above the -snowline, and few inhabited valleys――a region, in a word, compared to -which Switzerland is an easy plain――of wild romantic scenery, ravines, -torrents and landslips, but with little industry or commerce. Maize is -used for food throughout the sparsely-populated district, since rice -cannot be cultivated at such altitudes. The main ranges have a -north-and-south trend, subsiding some thousand feet before reaching -the Indo-Chinese frontier. Parallel to the lower south and south-east -chains of mountains are a series of rich upland valleys, each basin -supplied with its own watercourse or lake, and tenanted more or less -densely by the busy villages situated near the water. Rice, pepper and -the poppy are extensively cultivated. - -The choicest portion of this province lies within the open angle -formed by the divergence of four large rivers――viz. “the Yangtse, -taking its course due north, till, bending to the east, it makes its -final exit into the Chinese Sea at Shanghai; the Mekong, pursuing a -tortuous course south to the China Sea near Saigon; the Si-Kiang, -originating near the capital of the province, flows due east to -Canton; while a fourth, the Songkoi, or ‘Red River,’ goes south-east -to Hanoi and the Gulf of Tonquin. A central position amidst such -mighty waterways and with so wide a circumference of outside -communication indicates the great importance of the district either -for administration or trade――a fact early appreciated by the sagacity -of the Chinese, who as far back as the third century established -fortified colonies among the then savage and recalcitrant tribes of -Yunnan. For export Yunnan has three capital products to offer――opium, -tea and metals. The opium-yielding poppy grows almost everywhere. The -celebrated tea of the south-east is in great request, being considered -by the Chinese themselves superior to all other qualities of tea -throughout the empire. Its cultivation offers no difficulties, the -high price it commands outside of the region being solely due to the -costliness of transport. But it is the metal-trade which will in all -probability be the prominent feature of commerce. The great tin-mines -have supplied the whole of China from time immemorial; copper abounds -throughout the province; lead, gold, silver, iron, and last, but not -least, coal, make up the list. Curiously enough, the vast Chinese -empire includes no other truly metalliferous province except the -bordering region of Western Ssu-ch’nan, geologically, though not -administratively, a part of Yunnan; nothing but the inaccessibility, -and too-often disturbed and lawless condition, of the country has thus -far hindered its mines from becoming sources of really incalculable -wealth to the province, to the Chinese empire at large, and, by -participation, to foreign commerce.” - -The affluent circumstances of the peasantry in the southern districts -are in marked contrast with those of the north. The women do not -compress their feet. Many of the men bear the Muslim’s physique and -features. Indeed, before the merciless massacre of the Panthays, -Mohammedans formed the majority of the population. But the last -quarrel, begun by miners in 1855, only ended in 1874 by wellnigh the -extermination of the entire Muslim community. Mounted expresses were -despatched to seventy-two districts with instructions to the principal -mandarins from the governor of the province. Families were surprised -and butchered by night, their homes sacked and mosques burned. A cry -of horror ran from village to village. The Mohammedans rushed to arms, -collecting in vast numbers, and upward of a million Chinese were -killed in revenge. In the end the Panthays were crushed out, but more -than one-fourth of the inhabitants of Yunnan had perished or -emigrated. Plague and famine followed the great rebellion and -fearfully devastated the whole region, which is only now slowly -recovering its former prosperity. - -The aboriginal inhabitants of Yunnan are apparently of the same stock -as the Laos, just across the border. The variety of their clans and -picturesque costumes recalls the wild Highlanders of Scotland. - -The chief lack of Yunnan is good roads. Going east or west, the -highways run up the ridge, over the saddle or watershed, and dip down -into another valley, and this up-and-down process must be repeated -from town to town; ravines must be crossed, torrents must be bridged, -and often the narrow causeway lies along the side of a precipice or -the ascent may be some hundred feet up the face of a mountain. -Merchandise crossing the Laos frontier must be carried long distances -at an enormous cost. Thus the celebrated so-called Puekr tea of -North-eastern Laos, just a little south of the Yunnan border, while -freely used by the peasantry of that province, is too expensive by the -time it reaches the nearest Chinese port to export to Russia or -Europe. Yet the amount of goods and produce that move to and fro _viâ_ -Szmao, the last Chinese administration town, to Laos, and _viâ_ Cheung -Mai to Burmah, is surprising,――thus affording the best possible -guarantee for an increased amount to follow were only communication -facilitated. Railroad communication for an overland route is warmly -advocated. “From Yunnan,” as Baron Richthoren puts it, “the elongated -ridges of the Indo-Chinese peninsula (the land of the Burmese, Malays, -Siamese, Laos and Cochin-Chinese) stretch southward as fingers from -the palms of a hand.” - -The configuration of the peninsula is easily remembered as separated -by longitudinal belts of hills, spurs from the northern ranges, into -principal basins, or funnels, for the rich drainage of the surrounding -highlands, _viâ_ Burmah, or the basin of the Irawaddy; the valley of -the Menam and that of the Cambodia or Mekong River; and Tonquin, -connected by a narrow coast-strip with the French delta. - -The fluvial system of each of these great valleys is dominated by one -important river, whose downward course is more or less impeded by -cataracts, until the upper plateaux gradually subside into undulating -tracts, which increase in width and levelness as they approach the -several deltas. Throughout Indo-China these waterways, with their -intersecting streams and canals, are the main highways of population, -commerce and travel. Native villages often consist of one long -water-street running through a perfect jungle of palms and other -tropical trees, the little bamboo huts and the wats nearly hidden in -the foliage. Boats are used instead of carts, carriages or cars. In -the upland districts buffaloes and elephants are used; but, with the -exception of the pack-peddlers and caravans at certain seasons, the -traveler off the waterways would rarely meet any trace of human life. - - -I. THE FIRST BASIN――BURMAH. - -The westernmost basin embraces the kingdom of Ava, ruled by a most -cruel native autocrat, and the three British provinces of Lower -Burmah, governed by a chief commissioner residing at Rangoon and -subject to the viceroy of India at Calcutta. - -What is known of Burmah is chiefly embraced in the valley of the -Irawaddy. This large stream, rising in Thibet, flows almost due south -some twelve hundred miles, receiving tributaries east and west, and -communicating by numerous branches with the Salween, running parallel -on the east, but almost useless for travel, owing to its rapids. - -[Illustration: BURMESE TEMPLE.] - -The Burmese delta (a network of intercommunicating waters from the -Indian border-ranges to the banks of the Salween near the Siamese -frontier) has some fourteen outlets, but most of these are obstructed -by sandbars and coral-reefs. Bassein and Rangoon are the seagoing -ports. The latter is a large city of over one hundred thousand -inhabitants, and now ranks third in commercial importance in the -Indian empire. This plain from the coast to Prome is subject to -periodical inundations and is exceedingly productive. It is a great -rice-district. Below the northern frontier of British Burmah the -Irawaddy is nearly three miles broad. In the neighborhood of Prome the -face of the country changes. Ranges of lofty mountains approach nearer -and nearer, and finally close in on the stream, the banks becoming -precipitous and the valley narrowing to three-quarters of a mile. -Above the latitude of Ava the whole region is intersected by -mountains, and not far from Mandalay, the capital of Upper Burmah, is -their lowest defile. The banks at this point are covered with dense -vegetation and slope down to the water’s edge. Still ascending the -river, before reaching Bhamo one enters an exceedingly picturesque -defile, the stream winding in perfect stillness under high bare rocks -rising sheer out of the water. The current of the upper defile above -Bhamo is very rapid, and the return waters occasion violent eddies. -When the water is at its lowest no bottom is found even at forty -fathoms. - -For centuries the Irawaddy has furnished the sole means of -communication between the seaboard and interior. The Irawaddy Flotilla -Company, started in 1868, employs over one thousand hands, and sends -twice each week magnificent iron-clad steamers with large flats -attached to Mandalay. The time-distance between the two capitals is -greater than from New York to Liverpool. Smaller vessels go on to -Bhamo. The native craft are estimated at eight thousand. The rapid -increase of trade along this river attracts colonists and has greatly -enriched British Burmah. - -Bhamo, on the left bank, near the confluence of the Taping and close -to valuable coal-mines, is within a few miles of the Chinese frontier. -The old trade-route noted by Marco Polo is still in use, but the -ranges to be crossed, the great cost of land-carriage, together with -the dangerous neighborhood of the Kachyen banditti, render the road of -limited avail for trade-purposes beyond the fertile Taping valley. The -China Inland Mission and the American Baptists have stations at Bhamo. - -The Rangoon-Prome railroad was opened in 1878. The Rangoon-Toungoo -line will be in use this year, following the Sittang valley to the -borders of Siam. British capitalists have now under contemplation a -road crossing from Maulmain to Cheung Mai, a distance of about one -hundred and sixty miles, with only one comparatively low hill-chain -east of the Salween River. A terminus at Cheung Mai would create an -increased traffic, leading to a further extension _viâ_ Kiang Kung to -Szmao on the Yunnanese frontier, a distance roughly estimated at two -hundred and forty miles, with no intervening mountain-system. Although -as yet untraveled by European exploration, this track is in use by the -native caravans, and the projected railroad will open a most important -exchange market with millions of well-to-do, industrious inhabitants, -occupying some of the richest mining and agricultural districts of -Southern Asia. - -The official census report of Burmah states: “There is possibly no -country in the world whose inhabitants are more varied in race, -customs and language. There are said to be as many as forty-seven -different tribes in the narrow boundaries of the two Burmahs, but -these may be classed under four――Peguans, Burmese, Karens and Shans or -Laos. The Peguans seem to have first occupied the country. The Burmese -followed, and took possession of the plains and valleys of Upper and -Lower Burmah. Their language is used in the English courts of justice, -and is probably destined to be the prevailing language of the country. -The Laos, occupying the north-eastern plateaux skirting the Chinese -border, are from a great trunk of uncertain root which appears to have -been derived originally from Yunnan, where the main stem still retains -its primitive designation of La’o――a name commonly exchanged for -’shan’ in the language of the modern Burmese and English writers. The -Karens, scattered along the Siamese frontiers, are various tribes -having their own customs, dialects and religion. They have a tradition -that when they left Central Asia they were accompanied by a younger -brother, who traveled faster, went directly east and founded the -Chinese empire. Before the British acquired Lower Burmah these simple -mountaineers were subjected to brutal persecutions. So late as 1851 -the Burmese viceroy told Mr. Kincaid that he ‘would instantly shoot -the first Karens he found that could read.’” - -The Karens live among the vast forests, now in one and anon in another -valley, clearing a little patch for rice-fields and gardens, their -upland rice and cotton furnishing food and clothing and the -mountain-streams fish in abundance. They seldom remain more than two -seasons in one spot, and all through the jungles are found abandoned -Karen hamlets, where rank weeds and young bamboo-shoots supplant the -cultivated fields. - - -II. THE SECOND BASIN――SIAM. - -The river Menam (or Meinam) is formed by the union of streams from the -north. About halfway in its course mountains close upon the river, -which passes from the upper plateaux of Laos into the valley of Siam -proper through some of the finest mountain-scenery in the world. - -The rich alluvial plain of Siam is estimated at about four hundred and -fifty miles in length by fifty miles average breadth. The main stream, -above Rahany, is known as the Maping. Below the rocky defiles the -river divides several times, and contains some larger and smaller -islands; Ayuthia is built on one of the latter. The founding of this -city, about 1350 A. D., was one of the most memorable events in -Siamese history. In 1766 the Burmese depopulated the country and -burned Ayuthia. A new dynasty, with Bangkok for the capital, was -founded about a century ago. - -Bangkok, sometimes called “the Venice of the Orient,” is the Siamese -metropolis――the first city in size, wealth and political importance. -Old Bangkok is changing rapidly. European fashions and architecture -are introduced among the nobility and wealthy. The new palace is a -mixture of European architectural styles, retaining the characteristic -Siamese roof. The furniture is on a most costly scale, having been -imported from England, it is stated, at an expense of some -seventy-five thousand pounds. The large library is filled with books -in several languages and furnished with all the leading European and -American periodicals. The royal guards are in European uniform, but -barefooted, only the officers being permitted to wear boots. In the -surrounding area are courts and rows of two-storied white buildings, -the barracks, mint, museum and pavilions. The entrance to the -throne-room is up a fine marble staircase lined with ferns, palms and -plants. The throne-room is a long hall hung with fine oil paintings -and adorned with costly busts of famous personages. The spacious -drawing-room adjoining is furnished in the most luxurious European -style. - -[Illustration: RUINS OF A PAGODA AT AYUTHIA.] - -The palace of the second king (named George Washington by his father, -who was a great admirer of our celebrated American statesman) is also -European in many of its appointments, with mirrors, pictures and -English and French furniture. This prince, still in the prime of -middle life, devotes a great part of his time to scientific pursuits, -and has collected in his palace much machinery, including a small -steam-engine built by himself. He is fond of entertaining European -guests in European style; his reception-room is brilliantly -illuminated with innumerable little cocoanut-oil lamps. - -The Krung Charoon, or main highway of Bangkok, is several miles in -length, and used by the nobility and foreigners for driving, except -during the high tide of the river, when it is often partly under -water. The liveliest quarters in the capital are those mainly occupied -by the Chinese, with their eating-houses, pawnbrokers’ and drug-shops -and the ubiquitous gambling establishments, and with a Chinese -_waiang_, or theatre, near by. - -The finest view of the city and its surroundings is from the summit of -Wat Sikhet. - -The summer palace recently erected by His Majesty, a few miles below -Ayuthia, is a large building in semi-European style, standing amid -lovely parks and gardens, ornamented with fountains and statuary, with -streams spanned by bridges, and a fine lake with an island on which is -built a most delightful Siamese summer-house. The royal wat (temple) -opposite this palace is a pure Gothic building fitted with regular -pews and a handsome stained-glass window. - -“There are a few houses in Bangkok, occupied by the ‘upper ten,’ built -of stone and brick, but those of the middle classes are of wood, while -the habitations of the poor are constructed of light bamboos and -roofed with leaves of the atap palm. Fires are frequent, and from the -combustible character of the erections hundreds of habitations are -often destroyed. But in a few days the mischief is generally repaired, -for on such occasions friends and neighbors lend a willing hand.” - -Some of the entertainments of the nobility are in the European style. -Miss Coffman describes one given to the foreign residents by the -Kromatah, or minister of foreign affairs, to celebrate the birthday of -the young king: “The city was illuminated. We left home about eight -and returned at eleven P. M. In front of the house was latticework -with an archway brilliantly illuminated. A strip of brussels carpet -was laid from the archway to the steps. The house was elegantly -furnished in foreign style. In the reception-room were three -flower-stands, the centre one of silver and the other two glass, each -having little fountains playing. The sofas and chairs were cushioned -with blue silk. An excellent band discoursed harmonious music, and on -the arrival of His Majesty a salute was fired.” - -[Illustration: SIAMESE GENTLEMAN IN MODERN COURT-DRESS.] - -The dress and habits of the court-circles have undergone an entire -revolution within the last few years. The men wear neat linen, collar -and cravat; an English dress-coat, with the native p’anoong arranged -much like knickerbockers; shoes and stockings. The court-dress of a -Siamese lady consists of a neat, closely-fitting jacket, finished at -throat and wrists with frills of white muslin and lace, and a p’anoong -similar to that worn by the men. The artistic arrangement of the scarf -is a matter of much importance. Before a new one is worn the plaits -are carefully laid and the shawl placed in a damp cloth and pounded -with a mallet till it is dry. This fixes the folds so that they last -as long as the fabric, and also gives a pretty gloss to the goods. -Since the introduction of the jacket, instead of the many chains they -wear valuable belts of woven gold with jeweled buckles, and instead of -a number of rings on every finger, fewer and more valuable gems. - -[Illustration: SIAMESE LADY IN MODERN COURT-DRESS.] - -It is difficult for a stranger to distinguish a woman of the lower -classes from a man, as in dress, manner, appearance and occupation -they seem so much alike. The streets, the marketplaces and the temples -are crowded with women. Housekeeping and needlework form so small a -part of female labor here that much opportunity is given for -out-of-door work. - -John Chinaman too is everywhere in Bangkok, and at the floating -Chinese eating-shops or little boats a simple meal of rice, curry and -fish can be had for a few cents. - -The king’s garden is thrown open once a week to the public, and an -excellent native band plays for several hours. - -Progress marks the condition of things in Bangkok. The young king is -one of the most advanced sovereigns of Eastern Asia. He has made a -study of the laws and institutions of Western civilization, and has a -manly ambition to make the most of his country. All foreigners who -meet him speak well of him. He is bright, amiable and courteous in his -personal intercourse, and devotes much time to state business, -assisted by his brother and private secretary, usually called Prince -Devan, who, though young, has the reputation of being a keen, -thoughtful statesman. A younger brother is at present being educated -at Oxford. The king is a little over thirty, slight in figure, erect, -with fine eyes and fair complexion for a Siamese. He was born on the -22d of September, 1853, and came to the throne when only fifteen years -of age. - -Paknam is situated near the entrance of the eastern mouth, an -extensive mud-flat obliging the largest vessels to find anchorage on -the open roadstead at the head of the gulf. Five miles above Paknam is -Paklatlang, the entrance of the canal which shortens one-half the -distance by river from Bangkok. This canal, however, is only available -for small boats. A carriage-road runs from Bangkok to Paknam, some -twenty-five miles, and here is the custom-house and port of Bangkok. -The last division of the Menam occurs below Bangkok, and the river -finally disgorges itself by three mouths into the gulf. - -Two rivers from the west fall into the middle and westernmost -mouths――the Sachen, with its towns and villages, sugar-plantations and -mills scattered all along its elegant flexions, connecting by canals -with the Menam east and the Meklong west; and the Meklong, an -independent stream from the Karen country, flowing through a narrow -but extremely fertile valley in which hills and plains of some extent -alternate. The capital of the province is situated at the junction of -the canal――a town of twenty to thirty thousand inhabitants, noted as -the birthplace of the Siamese Twins. - -The “Sam-ra-yot,” or Three Hundred Peaks, separate Siam from Burmah. -This chain consists of a series of bold conical hills, extremely -ragged on their flanks and covered with immense teak-forests -stretching hundreds of miles over mountains and valleys. The noted -pass of the Three Pagodas across this range follows a branch known as -the Meklong Nee to the last Karen town on the Siamese frontier, thence -on foot or elephants across the summit to the head-waters of the -Ataran, and by canoes, shooting the rapids, a somewhat abrupt descent, -to Maulmein. - -[Illustration: VIEW OF PAKNAM ON THE MENAM.] - -Petchaburee, on the western side of the gulf, near the foot of this -range, is a sanitarium for natives and Europeans. Here is the -Presbyterian mission compound, and on the summit of a neighboring hill -is the king’s summer palace. The Tavoy road leads through this town. -The Laotian captives who built the royal palace are settled in -villages all over the Petchaburee valley; “their bamboo huts with -tent-like roofs, thatched with long dried grass, rise from the expanse -of level plain among fruit and palm trees like green islands in the -sea.” Each hut has its well-tilled kitchen-garden, its tobacco- and -cotton-plot. The latter, dyed with vegetable and mineral substances, -the women weave on their own looms for family use. With the exception -of a few Chinese articles, everything about these hamlets is of native -make. The Laotian serfs are superior to the Siamese physically, and -have more force of character. - -The Malay peninsula projects from the Isthmus of Kraw (lat. 10° N.), -six or seven hundred miles to Cape Romania, opposite Singapore. If the -estuaries between the Pakshan and Chomphon Rivers are ever united by a -ship-canal, the peninsula would be put where it ethnically and -geographically belongs, as one of the islands of the Eastern -Archipelago. - -Much of the peninsula is still one of the unexplored portions of the -globe. The rich stanniferous granite of the rocky spine running from -Kraw Point to the alluvial plain at the south is probably the most -extensive storehouse of tin in the world. Across the mountains there -are scarcely anywhere beaten tracks, and the natural passes between -the coasts are mostly overgrown with jungles. Numerous hot springs and -frequent earthquakes attest the presence of active igneous forces. -Coal has been recently discovered near Kraw Point. Gold and silver are -associated with the tin, and iron abounds in the south. - -Apart from the Chinese immigrants, who here, as elsewhere, monopolize -trade, the inhabitants may be classed under three heads――the -fullblooded Siamese of the North; the Samsams, or mixed Malay and -Siamese population; and the southern Malays, subdivided into the rude -aborigines, who inhabit the wooded uplands of Malacca, and the more -cultivated Mohammedan Malays, who under the influence, first of the -Hindoos and then of the Arabs, have developed a national life and -culture and formed states in various parts of the Archipelago. They -are migratory in their habits, and perhaps come next to the Chinese as -sailors and traders and in the spirit of adventure. Like most -followers of the False Prophet, they are devoutly attached to their -faith, though in all other respects they readily accommodate -themselves to the social usages of the Siamese and Chinese. They wear -turbans and loose trousers and carry a bent poignard. Though not a -quarrelsome race, when excited they become reckless and ferocious. For -a long time this Malay race was classed as an independent division of -mankind, but is now considered as affiliated with the Mongol stock, -closely resembling the Siamese. The Malayan tongue, with its simple -structure and easy acquirement, is a valuable instrument of -communication throughout the whole of Farther India. - -The Bang Pakong, thirty miles east of Paknam, has its sources in the -Cambodian Mountains and drains a highly-productive country. Sugar and -rice are extensively cultivated along its banks. Bang Pasoi, its port, -has a considerable trade with the interior. A delightful view of the -surrounding country may be enjoyed from a small mountain south of the -town. To the west are extensive salt-works, the sea being let into -large flats enclosed by embankments and left to evaporate with the -heat of the sun. Cartroads lead off to the neighboring villages, to -Anghin, and thence to Chantaboon, five or six days’ journey. Buffaloes -are used here for carts, and there are also some riding horses and -elephants. - -[Illustration: PORT OF CHANTABOON.] - -Anghin is a little village frequented by foreigners for a few weeks in -February or March for surf-bathing. A sanitarium was erected there -some years ago, and the following advertisement appeared in the -Bangkok newspaper, August 29, 1868: - -“His Excellency Ahon Phya Bhibakrwongs Maha Kosa Dhipude, the Phra -Klang, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has built a sanitarium at Anghin -for the benefit of the public. It is for the 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 -regard it in this way cannot be allowed, for it is public property, -and others should go and stop there also.” - -The eastern coast of the gulf is lined with numerous hills, and a -little way out in the gulf are islands, many of them extremely -precipitous and wild and romantic in appearance. Chantaboon, the most -eastern Siamese province on the gulf, is one of the most fertile and -populous districts. The government regards it as of much importance, -and has fortified it at great expense. - -The plain is irrigated by a network of short streams. The coast west -of the bay is mountainous, and a projecting arm guards the entrance. -The river near its mouth is perfectly clear, while the Menam is muddy. -Ten miles inland of the coast the Sah Bap hills extend some thirty -miles. Bishop Pallegoix says that in an hour or two’s wandering -through these mountains his party collected a handful of precious -stones. Gems are more abundant on the frontiers of the Xong tribes, at -the north-east corner of the gulf, where the mountains form an almost -circular barrier and the wild highlanders are accused of poisoning the -frontier wells to keep off strangers. Ship-timber abounds near -Chantaboon, and building after European models is prosecuted with -vigor at the government dockyards. The chief town is situated some -miles inland, near Sah Bap, where the windings of the little streams, -the high forest-clad mountains, give a varied and picturesque aspect, -and the climate, owing to the mixture of sea- and mountain-air, is -more propitious than at Bangkok. - -The famous Lion Rock, a mass of rudely-shaped stone which stands like -the extremity of a cape near this port, is held in great veneration by -the natives. “From a distance,” says M. Mouhot, “it so resembles a -lion that it is difficult to believe that nature unassisted formed -this singular colossus. Siamese verse records an affecting complaint -against the cruelty of the Western barbarian――an English captain, -whose offer to purchase had been refused, having pitilessly fired all -his guns at the poor animal.” - -[Illustration: LION ROCK, AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PORT OF CHANTABOON.] - -The small tributary kingdom of Korat, north-east of Bangkok, can only -be reached through an extensive malarious jungle called, on account of -its fatal character, “Dong Phya Phai,” the Forest of the King of Fire. -All sorts of wild tales and legends are told of perils from robbers, -wild beasts and malarious sickness――supposed to be the curse of evil -spirits inflicted on those hardy enough to venture into this lion’s -den. Dr. House was the first white man who ever visited Korat, in -1853, while engaged in an extensive missionary tour through the -Cambodian valley, and M. Mouhot came several years later. But the -whole province is little more than a nest of robbers, largely made up -of vagrants, escaped prisoners and slaves. Nine miles east of Korat, -the principal town, is a remarkable ruin of the same general style as -the Cambodian ruins of Siamrap. - - -CAMBODIAN RUINS OF SIAMRAP. - -In Eastern Siam, about fifteen miles north of the great lake of -Cambodia, are some of the most extraordinary architectural relics of -the world. - -A trip of several hundred miles through a land where salas bare of -furniture are the only inns makes it advisable to carry our own -bedding, lay in supplies and provide a cook before leaving Bangkok. A -Cambodian servant to act as guide and interpreter is also needed. - -A canal-trip due east from Bangkok brings us to the Kabin branch of -the Bang Pakong River. Mr. Thomson describes this as “a romantically -beautiful little stream, where we seemed to have retired to a region -unknown to men, inhabited only by the lower order of animals. Monkeys -walked leisurely beside the banks or followed us with merry chattering -along the overhanging boughs, while tall wading-birds with tufted -heads and snow-white plumage and rose-tipped wings paused in the -business of peering for fish to gaze with grave dignity upon the -unfamiliar intruders. Some were so near that we could have struck them -down with our oars, but to avoid this outrage they marched with a calm -and stately stride into the thickets of the adjoining jungle.” - -Kabin is the entrepôt of trade with the far interior. Chinese -merchants here waylay the elephant-trains from Battabong and Laos, -exchanging salt and Chinese or European wares for horns, hides, silk, -oil and cardamoms. Mines near Kabin are said to furnish the most -ductile gold in the world. - -Leaving our boats, elephants and a buffalo-cart are engaged. We step -from the veranda of the hut perched on poles to the elephant’s head -and into the howdah. The driver sits astride his neck, guiding when -needful with an iron-pointed staff. A military road from Kabin leads -to the borders of Cochin-China. Sesupon, the first Cambodian town, on -the frontier of provinces wrested by Siam from Cambodia a century ago, -is first reached. Some of the people, including the Siamese governor -and officials, speak both languages. - -It is possibly harvest-time; in the fields the reapers are among their -crops. Some of the plains are covered with tall grass ten feet high. -There are perhaps burnt patches or a spark has just started a fire, -and the flames, swept on by the wind, are roaring, crackling and -sending up dense columns of smoke in their wake. As we pass under the -overarching branches of trees in the forest our elephant keeps an eye -the while ahead, and when some lower limb would strike the howdah he -halts, raises his trunk and breaks it off. We toil up and over the -watershed and down a steep bank to the river’s brink through the tall -grass and bamboos, our beast sometimes sliding on his haunches, then -bracing and feeling the way with his trunk, or plunging into the soft -ooze of the river, wading through water so deep that nothing but the -howdah and elephant’s head and trunk appear above the surface, and -then climbing with slow but sure steps up a bank at least forty-five -degrees steep. - -Overtaken at night away from a town, we encamp under the trees. Our -attendants make an enclosure with the cart and branches of trees, -placing the cattle inside. We cook and eat our evening meal, making a -great fire and boiling the coffee and rice over the bright coals. Our -bivouac is underneath the stars on branches piled high above the -malarious surface of the ground. The natives watch in turn, keeping up -the fire to drive off wild beasts. Elephants prowl in droves outside -the enclosure and cries of jackals disturb our dreams. Possibly in the -morning tiger-tracks are pointed out to us. - -On the higher waters of the Sesupon River, running south to the lake, -are the first traces of the ancient Cambodian civilization in the -shape of a ruined shrine buried beneath overgrown jungle; other ruins -are found in more than forty different localities up to the confines -of China. - -Diverging to the north-east, evening finds us sheltered in a sala near -the quaint old town of Panomsok. To the north are the first altitudes -of the upland steppes of Laos. After such toilsome days and nights of -exposure, crossing some sunny eminences and ancient stone bridges, we -finally reach Siamrap, situated on a small stream about ten miles from -the head of Thalay Sap. - -It is a walled city, the teakwood gates thickly studded with large -iron nails, the gateways surmounted by curious pointed towers. Houses -similar to those of the middle class in Bangkok, the court-house and -governor’s residence, are the only substantial buildings. Extensive, -straggling suburbs extend southward for several miles on either bank -of the river. The province has from eight to ten thousand inhabitants, -all Cambodians. Dr. McFarland reports: “We found but two or three -persons who understood the Siamese language. The governor was a rather -intelligent young Cambodian who had been educated at Bangkok, and of -course spoke Siamese. He was pleasant, affable and very fond of -foreigners.” - -The communication with Panompen, the Cambodian capital, is by boat -down the river and crossing to the lower end of the lake, then by the -river which connects the lake with the Mekong. From Siamrap to -Panompen requires six days by boat. - -Half a dozen miles north of Siamrap, in the midst of a lonely forest, -we come upon the celebrated ruins of Nagkon Thom, or Angkor the Great, -and Nagkon Wat, the City of Monasteries, is a few miles off. The city -ruins to-day are little more than piles of stone among the jungles. -The outer wall, built of immense volcanic rocks, is best preserved. -The natives say an entire day is necessary to circumambulate the -walls. A mutilated statue of the traditional leper king is seated on a -stone platform near the gate of the inner wall, protected by a grass -thatch. The pedestal has an ancient inscription on stone. The ruins -are in the charge of a provincial officer, who lives in a lodge near -the palace. There are some old towers still standing. - -Some thirty miles distant are the Richi Mountains, said to contain the -quarries from which the supply of stone was obtained. A broad -causeway, still in serviceable repair, leads to the foot of these -hills. Mr. Thomson tried to go there, but the thick jungle made it -impossible to penetrate to the quarries even on elephants, although -the officer who accompanied him made a series of offerings at several -ruined shrines in order to propitiate the malignant spirits supposed -to infest these wilds. - -Concerning Angkor the Great ancient tradition speaks in most -extravagant terms, as being of “great extent, with miles of royal -treasure-houses, thousands of war-elephants, millions of foot-soldiers -and innumerable tributary princes.” A road through the forest connects -this once royal city with Nagkon Wat. Along this road a side-path -leads to an observatory, overgrown with shrubs and vines, standing on -a terraced hill and commanding a wide view of the surrounding region. - -The main entrance approaches the wat on the west, crossing by an -immense stone causeway over a deep, wide moat and under a lofty -gateway guarded by colossal stone lions hewn, pedestal and all, from a -single block. The structure rises in three quadrangular tiers, of -thirty feet, one above the other, facing the four points of the -compass, on a cruciform platform. Out of the highest central point -springs a great tower one hundred and eighty feet high, and four -inferior corner-towers rise around. It has been suggested that Mount -Menu, the centre of the Buddhist universe, with its sacred -rock-circles, is symbolized, the three platforms representing earth, -water and wind. Flights of steep stairways, each step a single block -and some having fifty or sixty steps, lead from terrace to terrace. -Long galleries with stone floors, stone roofs, and walls having a -surface smooth as polished marble, covered with elaborately chiseled -bas-reliefs, are flanked by rows of monolithic pillars whose girth and -height rival noble oaks. The centre compartments are walled in, and -the remaining two-thirds of the space consists of open colonnades. The -inner walls of these open galleries have blank windows; seven stone -bars, uniform in size and beautifully carved with the sacred lotus, -form a sort of balcony to each window. - -The bas-reliefs have thousands of nearly life-size figures, -representing scenes from the great Indian epic Ramayana――battle-scenes, -processions of warriors, and the struggle of the angels with the -giants for the possession of Phaya Naght, the snake god. The majority -of these are executed with care and skill, and form one of the chief -attractions of the wat. Specimens of the more beautiful, and also -casts of the inscriptions, have been transported to the Cambodian -Museum of Paris, but, unfortunately, M. Mohl, the celebrated -Orientalist entrusted with the task of deciphering these unknown -characters, died before reaching any satisfactory conclusion. Scholars -seem inclined to regard the inscriptions as derived rather from the -Pali or Sanskrit than the Malay or Chinese language. - -Mr. Thomson, the English traveler, with his photographs, has best -introduced these wonderful ruins to English readers. Mr. Frank -Vincent’s very readable account of his visit to these ruins in company -with Dr. McFarland, in 1871, also gives us much valuable information -and reproduces some of the English photographs. Dr. McFarland states -that “this wonderful structure covers an area of over ten acres――that -the space enclosed within the temple-grounds is two hundred and eight -acres, and the space within the walls of the city is over two thousand -acres. The temple is built entirely of stone. These stones were -brought a distance of about thirty miles, and must have required the -labor of thousands of men for many years. There is no such thing as -mortar or cement used in the building, and yet the stones are so -closely fitted as in some places to appear without seam. These ruins, -together with the beautiful little lakes that dot the plain and the -remnants of splendid roads that once traversed the country, show that -those formerly inhabiting this valley were a powerful race.” - -And as we in turn ponder and gaze on these evidences of an unknown -civilization a spell falls upon our imagination. We seem to see these -forsaken altars thronged by devotees, and through the valley are busy -cities adorned with stately palaces, astir with the human life of a -powerful, opulent kingdom. But vainly do we conjecture how ruins of -such solidity, so stupendous in scale, of elaborate design and -excellent execution, could have lain forgotten through centuries in -this lonely forest-district of an almost unknown portion of the globe; -nor can the sloth and ignorance of the present semi-civilized -inhabitants offer any trustworthy solution of the problem. They reply, -“We cannot tell,” “They made themselves,” “The giants built them,” or -refer to a vague local tradition of an Egyptian king, turned into a -leper for an act of sacrilege, as the reputed founder of the wat. - -The present good condition of the ruins of Nagkon Wat is largely due -to the late king of Siam, who gave them in charge of the small -religious brotherhood now living in little huts under the very shadow -of the gray walls. - -Travelers describe Nagkon Wat as “a rival of Solomon’s temple” and -“grander than anything left us by Greece or Rome,” “occupying a larger -space than the ruins of Karnac,” “imposing as Thebes or Memphis, and -more mysterious.” - -But the credit of what might be called the rediscovery of these -wonderful remains amidst the forest solitudes of Siamrap is due to M. -Mouhot, after these remnants of a lost past had for ages been -forgotten by all the world outside of their immediate vicinity. The -innumerable idols and thousands of bats hanging from the ceilings -would seem to have held undisturbed possession for centuries. - -Fergusson’s opinion, that this shrine was devoted to the worship of -the snake god (see _Tree and Serpent Worship_), is not in accord with -the views of Garnier, Thomson and others, who agree that it must have -been erected in honor of Buddha. Dr. Bastian, president of the Berlin -Geographical Society, thinks, with Bishop Pallegoix, that the probable -date of the building――at least its commencement――was the grand event -from which the civil era of Siam dates――viz. the introduction of the -sacred Buddhist canon from Ceylon in the seventh century. The general -appearance of the worn stairways, and the dilapidated condition of the -city, slowly mouldering under the destructive encroachments of a -tropical jungle, would seem to indicate great age. Yet the mediæval -narrative of Cambodian travel by a Chinese officer, late in the -thirteenth century, recently translated by M. Remusat, contains no -allusion to this great temple, which has induced some to conclude that -the building belongs to a later period. In 1570 A. D. a Portuguese -refugee from Japan refers to these “ruins” and the inscriptions -thereon as being in “an unknown tongue.” - - -III. THE THIRD BASIN――VALLEY OF THE MEKONG. - -The hill-country which separates the valley of Siam from that of the -Mekong (or Mekaung)――known in its lower course as the Cambodian -River――is of moderate elevation and the boundary-lines not well -defined. - -The Mekong is one of the most remarkable streams of Asia. It rises in -Thibet, passes through Western Yunnan parallel with the Yangtse and -Salween, till, breaking through the mountains not far from each other, -the Yangtse flows across China and the Salween to the Bay of Bengal, -while the Mekong, crossing Laos and Cambodia, after a somewhat devious -course of at least two thousand miles reaches the Cochin-China delta. - -The broken character of the Laos country gives the Mekong in its rapid -descent from plateau to plateau during its upper course the velocity -of a mountain-torrent as it tears along, with a noise like the roaring -of the sea, through deep gorges overshadowed by rocky defiles. In -Upper Laos the river is from six to eight hundred feet wide, and has -in the dry season an average depth of twenty feet, while the banks are -some twenty-five feet above the water, the difference between the -ordinary height and floodmark being very great. The rainy season -begins in April with the melting snow; the water rises gradually from -that time to July or August, when the country is flooded. - -It was at Garnier’s suggestion that the great French commission of -exploration was sent up this river through Laos and Yunnan to Thibet, -1866-68. Garnier being considered too young, the chief command was -entrusted to Captain Doudart Lagrée. De Carné (the brilliant -journalist of the _Deux Mondes_) formed a third, and an armed escort -accompanied them. The pluck and resolute endurance of this gallant -band of Frenchmen, who during two years of exposure and hardships -toiled over some five thousand miles of a country almost unknown to -Europeans, command our admiration. Garnier took nearly all the -observations, and shortly after the death of Lagrée assumed command -and conducted the expedition safely to its close. De Carné describes -the Mekong as “an impassable river, broken at least thrice by furious -cataracts, and having a current against which nothing can navigate.” -M. Mouhot, the pioneer of European explorers in this valley, says that -his boatmen sometimes sought fire at night where they had cooked their -rice in the morning. He went as far as Looang Prabang, the -north-eastern Laos province tributary to Siam, where he died. Here the -channel is very wide and lake-like in its windings through a sort of -circular upland valley some nine miles in diameter and shut in by -mountains north and south, reminding one of the beautiful lake-scenery -of Como and Geneva. “If it were not for the blaze of a tropical sun, -or if the noonday heat were even tempered by a breeze, this Laos town -would be a little paradise,” is one of the latest entries in Mouhot’s -journal. - -If there is almost an excess of grandeur in the upper courses of the -Mekong, the general aspect of the scenery as it reaches the -comparatively low level of Siam and Cambodia is sombre rather than -gay, though there is something imposing in the rapidity of so large a -volume of water. Few boats are to be seen, and the banks are almost -barren on account of the undermining of the forests, trees constantly -falling with a crash into the stream. For some two hundred miles from -its mouth the river is nearly three miles wide, and is studded with -islands, several of which are eight or nine miles long and more than a -mile broad. The discovery of the impracticability of the Mekong for -inland communication with Laos and China has robbed the French delta -of much of its supposed value. - - [Illustration: Cambodia. Anam. Laos. - TYPES OF WOMEN OF FARTHER INDIA.] - -The bulk of the Laos tribes are spread over the north-eastern valley -of the Mekong, from 21° to 13° north latitude. This extensive region -is a sort of _terra incognita_, reported to be thickly settled except -along the regions contiguous to the Tonquin Mountains, where the -villages are exposed to sudden raids from the wild tribes known as -“inhabitants of the heights,” who sometimes strike hands with the -Chinese refugees in making a foray over the border, carrying off the -peasants as slaves and driving away cattle, with whatever in the shape -of plunder can be moved. The caravans of pack-traders from Ssumao on -the Yunnan frontier bring back large loads of the celebrated -_so-called_ Puekr tea and cotton; whence it is inferred this plain -must be fertile and extensively cultivated. - -Talā Sap (Sweet-water Lake), the great lake of Cambodia, forms a sort -of back-water to the river Mekong, with which its lower end connects -by the Udong. It belongs partly to Siam and partly to Cambodia. It is -one of those sheets of water called in Bengal _jhéts_――viz. a shallow -depression in an alluvial plain, retaining part of the annual overflow -throughout the entire year, hence subject to great variations of -extent and depth. In the dry season the average depth is four feet, -and the highest floods entirely submerge even the forests on its -banks. It takes about five days to traverse the lake when full. - -Extensive fishing-villages, erected on piles, stud the lake, reminding -Mr. Thomson of “the pre-historic lake-dwellings of Switzerland.” The -houses are above a bamboo platform common to the entire settlement and -used for drying fish. This lake is an object of superstitious -veneration to the natives, the fish furnishing them with the most -important source of their livelihood. Enormous quantities are -exported, dried or alive in cages, while immense supplies are -furnished to Anamese villages to be boiled down into oil, thus giving -lucrative employment to thousands. - -The small remnant of the ancient kingdom of Cambodia forms a rough -parallelogram, consisting in large part of an alluvial plain lying -athwart the Mekong, uncomfortably wedged in between Siam, Anam and the -French delta, with a very short west coast-line. - -It would appear from Chinese annals that at an early period the -Cambodians were an exceedingly warlike race, and that their authority -extended over many of the Laos and even Siam. But for centuries -Cambodian influence in Indo-China has been on the decline. It has -little more than the name of an independent government at present, -being under a joint protectorate of Siam and France, and tributary to -both. - -The Cambodians differ from the Siamese in language, but in habits and -religion resemble them, with the usual Indo-Chinese type of -government. There are Roman Catholic, but no Protestant, missionaries -in Cambodia or Cochin-China, though several years ago strong reasons -were urged for the establishment by the American Presbyterian Mission -of an out-station at one of the principal Cambodian towns. - -Panompen, the present capital, is connected by a small steamer, which -makes regular trips, with Saigon. Below Panompen the river divides -into two streams, which flow south about fifteen miles apart, and -empty themselves into the China Sea. There is a labyrinth of -intersecting branches, creeks and canals across the delta, and the low -shores are mostly grown wild with jungle. - -Saigon, on an offshoot narrow, tortuous, but navigable for vessels of -the heaviest tonnage, is situated about twenty-five miles inland. The -French governor resides here, and is assisted in the control of the -province by a legislative and executive council. Extensive parks -surround the palace; macadamized roads run through the city. There is -a public promenade along the river, and botanical gardens, where -foreign plants have been introduced with the intent of their -propagation. The spacious harbor with its floating dock contains a -fleet of iron-clad steamers, and flags of the different consulates are -floating from the line of mercantile and government offices along the -bank. Telegraph lines connect Saigon with all parts of the peninsula, -and submarine cables with the outside world. - - -IV. THE FOURTH BASIN――TONQUIN. - -TONQUIN, the north-east corner of Indo-China, is a province of Anam. -It is separated by mountains from Laos and Siam and also from the -Chinese empire. The Songkoi, or Red River, dominates the whole fluvial -system, several streams from the north and west uniting, and then -dividing and diverging, so as to form a triangle or delta. Upon these -streams are situated the important towns. This Tonquinese river -connects Yunnan with the sea, forming an important trade-route. Its -port is Hanoi, at some little distance up the river, just as Bangkok -is in regard to the Menam. For the acquirement and control of this -waterway French enterprise seems to have taken the satirical counsel -of Horace, “Si possis recte; si non, quocunque modo.” - -The French colonial government covers an empire in Indo-China similar -to that of Great Britain in India, and would like to annex not only -Anam, but Cambodia and Eastern Siam. Early in this century, at the -instigation of Roman Catholic missionaries, who have played an -important part in the political complications, the French assisted -Gialong, an Anamese aspirant to the throne, making their services the -basis of a treaty which virtually gave them the protectorate of the -whole eastern coast. This claim, being disputed by the successors of -the prince, was the pretext for further encroachments. The court of -Hué, too weak to resist, again and again memorialized the Chinese -government, and each time a strong protest was made by China, who -naturally objected to a foreign power holding the trade-keys of some -of her richest provinces. These remonstrances have been ignored, and -the frank statement of Dr. Hammand, the French civil commissioner in -Tonquin, is not calculated to commend Christian ethics to the -Buddhists of Southern Asia. “When a European nation,” he affirms, -“comes in contact with a barbarous people, and has begun to spread -around its civilizing influences, there comes a time when it becomes -_ipso facto_ a necessity to extend its boundaries. There is no country -more favorable to our development than the kingdom of Anam. The -Anamese recognize that we are incontestably their superiors. _It is -necessary to force Anam to accept our rule._” This has been done. - -An able writer in the _London Quarterly_ (October, 1883) says: “The -railroad route from Maulmein across the Chino-Shan frontier being -assured, an upland cross-road of some seventy or eighty miles -north-east would lead to Yuan-Kiang on the main stream of the Songkoi, -whence a road would lie open to the capital, Yunnan-fu, or south to -the mart of Manhao, which is the head wharf of the Songkoi River -navigation within the province of Yunnan, and thence to the Gulf of -Tonquin.… Siam, the Laos provinces tributary and independent, Yunnan -and Tonquin can thus be brought into the closest and most profitable -connection with Burmah, all on one line, at once the easiest and most -expeditious across the peninsula, and thus a short direct line for -goods-transit be provided from the Gulf of Tonquin to the Bay of -Bengal.… This, then, is the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx of the -Far East, this the true solution of the Indo-Chinese overland route -problem; by this the long-sought goal will be obtained, and the -highest benefits conferred, not on Burmah and Yunnan only, but on -India and China; on Siam and the Laos country, and Tonquin; on British -and European enterprise throughout the China Sea and Indian Ocean -alike――the vision of Marco Polo and his gallant successors realized.” - -This northern province is more closely connected with China in -government, literature and sympathy than with the rest of Anam. The -Tonquinese use the Chinese characters for the written language, and -near the frontier the Anamese tongue is hardly spoken; their laws and -customs are modeled on those of China; the internal trade is in -Chinese hands; the merchant quarter of Hanoi, with its shops and -well-paved streets, is purely Chinese; the external trade-centre is at -Hong Kong. Chinamen marry the women of the country, and all around the -fringe of the delta Chinese and half-breeds form the dominant race. It -is even hard to say just where Tonquin ends and China begins, for -there is a belt of debatable land along the frontier, narrow in the -north, but widening to over one hundred miles in the hills, and in -some of the border fortresses Chinese and Anamese exercise joint -control. - -This plateau country, along the upper banks of the Songkoi and Claire -Rivers, is infested by wild native tribes and Chinese brigands under -the names of “Yellow Flags” and “Black Flags,” who erect barriers -along the streams, so that travel in these parts is dangerous. Hence -the importance of the fortified towns of Sontay and Bacninh, situated -close to these outlaw districts. From Sontay to Hanoi there is a -well-made embankment, shaded by fine trees. It was along this road -that Garnier and Revière met their deaths in 1873. Most of the travel -is along the river. Throughout the province almost the only highways -are footpaths across the jungles. From Hanoi roads lead north to China -and south to Hué. The influence of Hanoi, through Anam, is widespread -as a centre of fashion as well as of authority. A French writer calls -it the “Paris of the Anamese empire.” What more could he say? - -[Illustration: SCENE ON AN ORIENTAL RIVER.] - -The thickly-populated delta, intersected by streams and tidal creeks, -is subjected to periodical inundations, when the whole face of the -country has the appearance of an enormous lake, with here and there -clumps of trees, villages and pagodas. Away from the delta only the -valleys and lower slopes are cultivated, and the rest of the province -is a tangle of mountains covered with dense forests, of which little -is known, apart from the Songkoi and minor waterways, unless from the -reports of the natives or Roman Catholic missionaries. The population -of the province is estimated not to exceed ten millions, probably -less. The Anamese differ from those of the south, the race being -formed by a union of the hill-aborigines with the seaboard people. The -climate is not considered favorable for Europeans. There are no -Protestant missions in Anam. - -This survey of the principal basins of Indo-China will enable the -reader to appreciate how largely the agricultural wealth and -commercial importance of all these countries depend on its rivers. It -is scarcely exaggeration to state that a few inches of water often -determine whether the receding flood at the annual inundation will -leave a bright, grain-laden plain or a sterile waste of ruined crops. -It should also be remembered that while periodical floods are common -to all the deltas, each valley has its own period, indicating that the -table-lands in which the rivers have their sources are at unequal -distances. Moreover, travel throughout the peninsula being so largely -aquatic, not only north and south along the main trunks, but across -the same valley by means of intersecting canals, tide plays an -important part in these waterway trips, and many smaller streams being -filled and emptied daily, a careful study of tidal influences will -avoid delay, as at times the water, suddenly receding, leaves a boat -stranded on the banks of some creek for hours, with no water even for -cooking or drinking purposes. - - -V. CLIMATE, PLANTS AND ANIMALS. - -Far India, as this south-eastern corner of Asia is sometimes called, -has a tropical climate. At seasons the heat is intense, but in many -portions the warm air is genial and not unhealthy, though Europeans -need from time to time a change to a more bracing region. The seasons -are two――the wet and the dry: the former embraces our spring and -summer months, and ranges from May to October; the latter, the -remainder of the year. March and April are the hottest months; -November, December and January, the coolest. The winter is mild and -summer-like――doors and windows all open and no fire. Houses are built -without window-glass, and the shutters are seldom closed except at -night or to keep out the sun. Here, too, is the verdure of perpetual -summer――lands where the foliage is always green, where roses bloom -from the first to the last day of the year, and the orchards are -always laden with their luscious store――lands of Italian sunsets, -picturesque mountains, loveliest valleys, and long stretches of -comparatively still waters, said to resemble the Swiss mountain-lakes, -clear as crystal, reflecting the sky and great mountain-shadows, and -filled with fish; the grandest caves, the richest mines of precious -metals and valuable gems. Rice, the principal article of food among -the natives, grows almost spontaneously, and is used on the table at -an expense of three cents a pound, while bananas are sold for two -cents a dozen and oranges for half a cent each. - -It does not cost much to build a little bamboo house after the native -fashion. For example, Miss Cort paid for one of her schoolhouses at -Petchaburee, fourteen by twenty-two feet, only $6.38 for the -materials, including a lock and key; $5.44 for the wages of the men -and women who built it――making the entire cost $11.82. But then we -should think it a very queer schoolhouse, with its basket-like walls -of woven bamboo, its roof of leaves sewed together, its three little -windows without any glass, and two doors; nor would its strangeness be -less striking if we saw the native teacher and children all sitting on -the floor. But things move slowly in these warm Eastern countries. If -you want to build a more substantial house, you must begin by buying -earth to make the bricks, and oftentimes rough logs to be worked up -into boards; and, though labor is cheap, a day’s work in Indo-China -will not mean anything like as much accomplished as in the same space -of time in America. - -In the useful arts the inhabitants of this peninsula are far behind -Chinese and Hindoos, though there are said to be ingenious workers in -copper and iron, and in the manufacture of gold and silver vessels -they display considerable skill. - -Agriculture is the main employment of the natives. In many parts of -this peninsula the land is prepared by turning in the buffaloes during -the rainy season to trample down weeds and stir the soil, which is -afterward harrowed by a coarse rake or thorny shrub, the stubble being -burnt and the ash worked in as manure. - -But the Chinese are everywhere introducing improved methods. The best -quality of rice is transplanted, the plants lying partially covered in -the still pools of water between the rectangular ridges marked off for -the purpose of irrigation; and rice growing above the rising water -looks very like a field of wheat or tall grass. At high-flood seasons -it is a pretty sight to see the planters moving about in boats -attending to their crops. The growth is almost spontaneous. Little -care is needed until the whole family must turn out to drive off the -immense flocks of little rice-birds. The rice is sown in June, -transplanted in September and harvested late in December or in -January. In the fields at this season may be seen the reapers, -multitudes of sheaves and stacks of grain. The rice is generally -threshed by buffaloes, a hard circle being formed around each stack. -The carts have large wheels, four or five feet apart, with the sheaves -placed in a small rack. The driver guides the oxen by means of ropes -fastened in the septum of their noses, reminding one of the Scripture, -“I will put my hook in his nose.” - -Sugar is produced almost everywhere, in Siam especially, under the -Chinese settlers, its quality yielding to that of no other sugar in -the world, so that it is fast becoming one of the most important -Siamese exports. Almost all the spices used throughout the world find -their early home in the peninsula or the neighboring islands――the -laurel-leaf clove; the nutmeg, like a pear tree in size, its nut -wrapped in crimson mace and encased in a shell; the cardamom, a plant -valuable for its seeds and the principal ingredient in curries and -compound spices. A pepper-plantation is a curious sight, the berries -growing, not in pods, but hanging down in bunches like currants from a -climber trained much like a hop-vine, yielding two annual and very -profitable crops. Tea is cultivated in the Laos provinces, and coffee -and cotton are also raised. Tobacco is largely grown, and its use is -almost universal; even babies in their mothers’ arms are often seen -puffing a cigar. A fine aromatic powder, made from the deep golden -root of the curcuma, is sold by the boatload in Bangkok; Siamese -mothers may be seen in the morning _yellowing_ their children with it -for beauty. It is also used to give color to curries, and mixed with -quicklime makes the bright pink paste wrapped in seri-leaf around the -betel-nut for chewing purposes. - -Vegetable-gardens and fruit-orchards surround most of the villages. -The neat Chinese gardens near Bangkok are worth a visit. The land is -made sufficiently dry by throwing it up in large beds ten to twelve -feet high, extending the whole length of the grounds. The deep ditches -between have a supply of water even in the dry season, and a simple -instrument is used to sprinkle the plants with it several times a day. -The gardener lives within the premises, his small dirty hut guarded by -a multitude of dogs and a horrible stench of pigsty. The artificial -ridges of the paddy-fields beyond, three feet high, make quite -comfortable footpaths in the dry season. - -[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.] - -The Indo-Chinese fruits are of great excellence of flavor, and almost -every day of the year furnishes a new variety. The best oranges are -plentiful; pineapples are a drug in the market; lemons, citrons, -pomegranates are abundant and very cheap. As the season advances, -mangoes, guavas, custard-apples and the like follow in quick -succession; on some kinds of trees buds, flowers, green and ripened -fruit may be found at the same time. The small mahogany-colored -mangosteen is perhaps the most popular of tropical fruits. One species -of the sac has a fruit weighing from ten to forty pounds, which cut in -thick slices will supply a meal to twenty persons, and a single tree -will produce a hundred such fruit; the bright yellow wood of this tree -is used for dyeing the priests’ robes. The tamarind grows to an -enormous height and lives for centuries; under its shade the Siamese -assemble for most of their social games. The durian, a child of the -forest, has something the appearance of an elm; the large fruit, cased -in a thick hard rind as difficult to break as a cocoanut-shell and -covered with strong spines, gives a dangerous blow in falling. The -five shells within each contain several seeds rather larger than a -pigeon’s egg filled with custard-like pulp of a strong odor and unique -flavor. The plantain or banana has some forty varieties, with fruit -varying greatly in size as well as in flavor. It is the first fruit -given to babies, and, the Moslems say, was the gift of Allah to the -Prophet in his old age when he lost his teeth. The trees bear fruit -but once, and then are followed by others from the same root. The -useful bamboo is a tree-like plant with a jointed stem, producing -branches with willow-shaped leaves, which wave in the wind, giving an -elegant feathery appearance. So rapid is its growth, sometimes two -feet in a single day, that the plant attains its height of sixty to -seventy feet in a few months. It is said to have seven admirable -qualities――strength, lightness, roundness, straightness, smoothness, -hollowness and divisibility. The short succulent shoots are served on -the table like asparagus, pickled or candied. According to the Chinese -proverb, the grains are “more abundant when rice fails.” The stems -furnish bottles, buckets, baskets, fishing-rods, posts, bridges, -walls, floors, roofs, and even the string that lashes together rafter -and beam of the common native house in Indo-China. - -[Illustration: THE LOTUS.] - -Under the stimulating sunshine of the tropics a profusion of rare -shrubs and some of the most beautiful flowers reward slight labor with -a rapidity of growth and bloom unknown in colder regions. Roses of one -sort or another are perennial. Bright geraniums, brilliant lilies and -numberless plants indigenous to the country are in great demand and -cultivated extensively for domestic or religious uses. There are seven -varieties of the lotus, the favorite sacred flower of all Buddhist -countries. The red pond-lotus is most common; the blue, green, light -and dark-yellow flowers are rarer. The smallest variety has a white -flower scarcely larger than a daisy, and is found in the rivers, -principally at the season of inundation. The rose-colored lotus, whose -golden stamens breathe a delicious fragrance, is the ornament of all -festivities, and is sent as an offering to royalty, the priests and -Buddha himself. The mali, a fragrant white flower about the size of a -pink, is much cultivated in the neighborhood of Bangkok. It grows on a -shrub about three feet high. The wreaths worn around the topknots of -children are braided from this flower, which is also used for -necklaces, bracelets and to perfume water. Rare and beautiful orchids -are also here in large numbers, and many of the varicolor-leaved -plants find this their native home. - -Throughout the Indo-Chinese peninsula are great belts of trackless -forests of teak and other valuable woods, tropical trees yielding rich -gums and aromatic odors――the tall, exquisitely graceful wood-oil tree; -the india-rubber, gutta-percha――first discovered in Malayland――and -other varieties of the Ficus; the cajaput, the upas, the gamboge. -There are thousands of miles of these jungles never yet subdued by -man, through whose green twilight the traveler can only force his way -axe in hand. Here are majestic trees, it may be a hundred and fifty -feet high and of great girth, draped with a whole world of dangling -vines and parasite trailers, spreading everywhere a canopy of leaf and -gorgeous blossoms; the liana hanging its scarlet and orange clusters a -hundred feet overhead across some stream; tough ratan cables a -thousand feet long, knotting together a whole grove; avenues of -intersecting branches, like the aisles of a Gothic cathedral, covered -with yellow flowers of a most delicious fragrance; the white and -purple of the pemea, combining the beauties of the rhododendron and -horse-chestnut; the blue-blossoming Thunbergia; the Burmese Amherstia, -like a giant fuchsia on the scale of an oak. Then there is the -graceful palm tribe――the palmyra; the date; the lofty areca with its -sweet-scented buds and great clusters of nuts; the tufted-crowned, -sea-loving cocoanut, whose fruit supplies food, drink and oil, its -fibrous casing ropes, vessels and mats, and its plaited leaves dishes -and the thatch of the native’s cottage, the large stalks fences, and -whose slender bole is adapted for innumerable uses from a post to a -canoe. Underneath all this Oriental shade a lovely confusion of fungi, -mosses, and every variety of ferns, from delicate maiden-hair to the -tall fronds fifteen and twenty feet high. - -[Illustration: BIRD OF PARADISE.] - -Birds of brilliant plumage and beautiful form inhabit these Oriental -forests――long-legged swamp-fowls, tall as a man and swift as a -greyhound; paroquets with green bodies and scarlet beaks fly screaming -from tree to tree; the snowy pelican, the white ibis, the argus, the -blue-jay, the black and white robin; birds of paradise and -humming-birds. The sea-swallow builds her nest in the hollows and -caves of the rocky coast, and doves and pigeons are in endless -variety. Winged things of myriad kinds troop, great and small――immense -butterflies, jewel-like beetles, brilliant dragon-flies, thousands of -moths――while at dusk swarms of fire-flies illumine the glades, and the -night is noisy with the flitting and buzzing of the insect world. - -Animals fierce and large as those of Africa infest these jungles; -their footprints are all along the paths――wild elephants and boars, -the tapir, the royal tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the buffalo, -herds of deer, wild hogs and squirrels, afford a sportsman plenty of -use for his gun; uncanny flying-foxes, and chattering monkeys linked, -chain-fashion, hand to tail, or pelting each other with fruit and -nuts. Innumerable water-snakes glide among the reeds; the cobra or -hooded serpent is abundant; surly alligators, with their ugly red -mouths wide open, and huge saurians bask in sunny spots or float like -logs upon the surface of the water; leeches abound in the swampy -lowlands; frogs and turtles and tortoises, larger than any ever seen -in temperate regions, throng the marshes and streams. - -[Illustration: MONKEYS PLAYING WITH A CROCODILE.] - -Indo-China also offers a first field of inquiry to the geologist. The -peninsula is very rich in minerals; gold is said to be most productive -at the foot of the “Three Hundred Peaks;” copper and tin are found in -large quantities; silver in connection with copper and lead; and there -are unquestionably large unworked deposits of coal and petroleum. -Precious stones, brilliant diamonds, deep-blue sapphires, rubies of -finest color, emeralds, topazes, rock-crystals and other gems used to -ornament the crowns of kings and emperors are a part of the natural -wealth. - - * * * * * - -Such, then, are the general characteristics and geographical outlines -of the Indo-Chinese peninsula. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -_SIGHT-SEEING IN BANGKOK._ - - -To give you some idea of Bangkok, the capital city of Siam, I will -imagine myself once more a resident there, with you for a visitor, and -will invite you this fine morning to take a seat in our family boat, -which is at the landing, and we will go out upon the river. - -It is a strange city, unlike any in the Western World, and if we -cannot “see the lions,” we may perhaps “see the elephants” and many -novel and interesting things. You have already become somewhat -familiar with the copper-colored complexion, the black eyes, black -hair and black teeth, the scanty clothing and shaven heads of the -people. - -We will confine our excursion to-day to the Menam River, the Broadway -of Bangkok, while the hundreds of canals that intersect it at every -angle may be considered the less-important streets. You find the river -a busy scene, but need have no fears of a collision with any of the -innumerable boats of every size and description that pass, for the -Siamese are very skillful boatmen. - -Your attention is already attracted by the beautiful _wat_, or temple, -with its surroundings, on our right. Is it not a beautiful spot, so -prettily laid out with fine shade trees, flowering plants and -well-swept walks? There are about two hundred wats in Bangkok -consecrated to the worship of Buddha. Some of them have groves several -acres in extent, containing pagodas, image-houses, priests’ dwellings -and salas, or lounging-places. They occupy the pleasantest parts of -the city, and the deluded people spend vast sums on these temples and -their idols, expecting in this way to make merit for themselves. You -will not wonder that they are anxious to make all the merit they can -when their religion teaches them that at death their soul enters the -body of some animal――a bird, it may be, or a snake, an elephant or a -buffalo――unless they have made enough merit to be born something -better and higher. - -[Illustration: BANGKOK ON THE MENAM.] - -Observe the exterior of this temple. What a gay appearance the -neat-colored tiles give the roof! The front, how laboriously carved -and how richly gilded! The doors and windows too are more or less -carved and gilded. Now we will go inside. The scenes with which these -inner walls are so gayly painted are chiefly from the life of Buddha, -and see, in the farther end, on an ornamental throne, is an immense -gilt image of this deity in a sitting posture. This is made of brick -and mortar, but idols are sometimes of gold, silver, brass, ivory, -wood and stone. All have the same self-complacent, sleepy look. Look! -a worshiper has followed us in. Watch his movements. See him prostrate -himself before the idol, touching his forehead three times to the -floor, and now he lays his simple offering of flowers upon the altar. -Mark the complacency of his countenance as he leaves, no doubt feeling -that he has added not a little to his stock of merit. - -[Illustration: HOUSE-SPARROW.] - -But we must return to our boat and move on up the river, for I hope to -have time to visit the royal temple and perhaps some others. - -Ah! there are some priests. I feared we should not meet any of these -yellow-robed gentry. How strange they look with shaven heads and -eyebrows! Such as these are the religious teachers of the country. A -few years ago there were ten thousand in Bangkok alone and some thirty -thousand in the kingdom――a perfect army (with few exceptions) of -self-conceited idlers; but I am happy to tell you that their number -has now greatly diminished. They live on the charity of the people, -going about every morning from house to house among their -parishioners, with their alms-bowl, and with a fruit-bag slung over -one shoulder. The old mother or grandmother is up at an early hour to -have rice cooked and ready for them. She puts a ladleful of hot rice -into the bowl of each as he passes, and a handful of fruit into his -fruit-bag. Do they thank her? By no means. She ought rather to thank -them, for they have given her an opportunity to make merit. They -collect sufficient for their morning and noonday meal. Their religion -forbids them to take food after midday. - -Notice the boats. Some, used for trading, are loaded with rice, sugar, -salt, cotton, oil, dried fish, or dye-woods, as the case may be. Some -are at once boat, shop and dwelling. In the distance is a nobleman’s -boat, propelled by a dozen or two paddlers. What an odd little house -in the centre! Do you see how much at his ease His Lordship is -reclining, with two or three attendants down on their elbows and knees -before him? Look yonder at that small boat paddled by a little child -five or six years old. How unconcerned the little fellow seems as he -moves about entirely alone, his boat hardly larger than himself, the -edge scarcely two inches above the water! Men, women and children in -this country can swim; should this child upset he would look out for -himself and think very little of the matter. - -Many smaller craft are market-boats, with fruits and vegetables for -sale. Notice some of the fruits as they pass. That one nearly as large -as a child’s head and resembling a huge orange is the shaddock or -pomelow. This large one, which smells so very disagreeably, and which -is so completely encased in spines as if to say, “Touch me not!” is -the far-famed durian, which the natives consider the king of fruits. -It weighs from five to ten pounds. This small round mahogany-colored -fruit is the delicious mangosteen――that golden one, the luscious -mango. Then there are the rich custard-apple, the refreshing orange, -the blushing rhambutan, the pineapple, the banana, etc. - -You see the flags of many different nations flying from the ships, of -which none are more beautiful than the “star-spangled banner” of our -native land. There are also scores of steam-yachts on the rivers of -Siam now, owned by the natives, but when I first came here there was -not one to be seen. You ask what these strange-looking craft, moored -by immense ratan cables, are? They are Chinese junks, and it would be -hard to tell where the Chinese obtained their model. The wonder is -that such clumsy, unshapely, unsightly things can be made to traverse -the sea. And the glowing colors in which they are painted, red always -predominating! And don’t overlook the large eye painted on each bow. -The Chinese say, “No got eye, how can see?” - -But you must not get so much interested in the boats and the fruits as -not to notice the _homes_ of this people. Many of the princes and -nobles now have fine houses handsomely furnished. The missionaries, -foreign consuls, merchants and wealthy Chinese have good, substantial -dwellings. The homes of the common people, you see, are small, of one -story, and thatched with the leaves of the attap palm. Most of them -are neither painted nor whitewashed. Those upon the land are placed on -posts six feet high, and the sides of many of them are made of bamboos -split and woven together, forming a kind of basket-work. - -But thousands of the people live in _floating_ houses, which you have -observed lining both banks of the river. Notice them particularly now, -for they are one of the peculiarities of this Eastern city. They are -but one story high, you see, and built of boards and placed on rafts -of large bamboos, which rise and fall with the tide, and hence are -called _floating houses_. These rafts must be renewed every two or -three years. The houses are kept in their place by large posts on each -side driven deep into the muddy bed of the river. They do sometimes, -however, get detached from their moorings, though fastened to them by -rings of ratan, and float up or down the river with the tide. These -houses have some advantages over all others, for if neighbors are -disagreeable or a fire breaks out the occupants have only to move off -with the tide, house, furniture and all, to some other spot. - -[Illustration: FLOATING STORES AT BANGKOK.] - -You will observe that many of them are open in front with a veranda, -and are shops. This one seems to have a variety, and we will stop a -few moments. You perceive there are no showcases, but the smaller and -more fanciful articles are displayed on these shelves, arranged one -above another, like a flower-stand, to the height of some three feet. -Are you waiting for the shopkeeper? The personage seated on the floor -by the side of his goods is none other than he. He seems quite -indifferent about selling, but look about and see what of all this -mixed medley you will purchase. There, in the way of dry goods, are -bleached and unbleached and turkey-red muslins, Siamese waist-cloths -and some fading calicoes. Here are a few boxes of tea, some native -umbrellas, a bunch of peacock-feathers, tigers’ skins and tigers’ -bones, piles of coarse crockery, pieces of matting, etc. There are -also pretty little brown teapots and tiny cups, all of which at home -would be considered toys for children, but, I assure you, they are as -large as any used by the tea-drinkers of this country. There is a set -now on a little tray behind you that are in daily use. Ah! you want to -purchase a set with the tray, do you? Well, you have made a very good -selection, but the shopman may not fancy your flat silver coins, -though they are fast being introduced. Make your selection and I will -pay your bills. I have yet to show you the money of the country. See! -a stamped silver bullet, with a small notch cut out of one side. What -does it remind you of? I do not wonder you smile. This largest piece -is a _tical_, and is worth sixty cents; this next size is a _salung_, -or fifteen cents; this smallest a _fuang_, or seven and a half cents. -If I had come shopping with you a few years ago, and you had wanted -any smaller change, I should have used cowrie-shells, of which it took -one thousand to equal a dime. The shopman is paid, and now with the -Siamese good-bye, _Chah! lah! pi kaun_, we must move on. Do not think -these are the only shopping-places in the city, for besides several -fine foreign stores we might, if we had time, go up into the Chinese -bazaar, which is about a mile long. We should find there tailors, -blacksmiths, druggists, goldsmiths, idol-makers, dyers, etc. - -We are just passing a floating-house restaurant. We will move slowly -and see what they have――pork steaks, ducks, fowls, hot rice and curry, -dried fish and vegetables. Shall we call? No? Well, then, we will take -our own lunch that we have brought with us, and, refreshed by it, be -ready to visit a royal temple which we shall soon reach. - -Notice this large canal on our right, for it extends entirely around -the city proper, following the line of the city-wall, which is five -miles in circumference, till it meets the river again. - -Do you notice that smoke rising in yonder temple-ground? It is from a -funeral pile, for in this country the dead are _burned_, unless they -committed suicide, were struck by lightning or died of cholera or some -other disease causing sudden death, in which case they are considered -as deficient in merit and undeserving of burning. You will be -surprised when I tell you that two armsful of wood are sufficient to -reduce a body to ashes. - -Look at that lofty tower on the left, rising full two hundred feet, -with such exquisite proportions. It is considered the finest pagoda in -Bangkok, but I think the four tall, gracefully-tapered spires in the -wat-ground directly opposite are not much behind in beauty. Under the -long, tiled roof near them reclines an image of Buddha which is -perhaps the largest idol in the world. There is a huge one on this -side that towers up seventy feet as it sits cross-legged, but we will -cross over and visit the larger one, the “Sleeping Idol.” Let us land -and look about a while before we enter the principal temple. You see -there are other temple-buildings and small pagodas, besides the usual -houses for the hundreds of priests. In one of these temples are to be -seen four hundred images of Buddha, life-size and each seated on a -gilded throne. Now we will go in and see the immense image. The temple -itself is two hundred feet long, and the idol at least one hundred and -sixty feet long. You see it lies on its side, as if asleep. It is made -of brick and heavily gilded. I suppose the gold-leaf is of many -thicknesses in some places, for worshipers generally stick on a fresh -piece. As we have our yard-measure, let us see how long the feet are. -Five yards and more! and each toe is one yard long! Buddha’s toes and -fingers are supposed to have been all of one length, and look at the -soles of the great feet, so beautifully inlaid with figures in -mother-of-pearl! - -But come, we must not linger longer here. The palace of His Majesty is -near, and we must get a glimpse of this, though I fear its exterior -will not be as imposing as you thought. The palace-grounds are -enclosed by a wall about a mile in circumference. Here are the -audience-halls, the mint, arsenal, halls of justice, museum, royal -chapel, and separated from them by an inner wall is the royal harem, -which is in itself a compact little town, with several streets, a -bazaar, a temple, pleasure-gardens and the homes of the numerous -wives, sisters and other relatives of the king. - -This gate in the city-wall will give us access to the stables of the -elephants. Were it early in the morning we should see them coming down -to the river to bathe and drink. - -Our walk takes us through a market, but you must not look for neatness -or order, only a confused display of vegetables and fruits, -betel-nuts, cigars, odd-looking cakes, eggs, salted and fresh fish, -dried meats. But why this commotion? Ah! the reason is plain, for -there, with his train of attendants, comes a prince borne rapidly -along in an open palanquin on the shoulders of men, and the traders -and customers must make way for him. Ten years ago all, as if impelled -by one impulse, would have respectfully dropped down on elbows and -knees, but the present young king has done away with this servile -custom. Ten years ago hat or cap, stockings or shoes, would not have -been needed to denote his greatness, the number of his retinue showing -that. Notice his attendants. One carries an immense state umbrella -over the head of His Lordship; then there is the sword-bearer and the -pipe-bearer; one carries his gold betel-box and tray, another his -spittoon; one has his lighted match-rope, another his fan, and another -his golden vessel of drinking-water. Now the prince has passed, and we -may go on our way to the elephant-stables, which are very neat. Let us -venture in. You need not fear that they are not securely fastened by -those large ropes to the posts. How incessantly they sway their great -trunks, as if weary of confinement! The burnished metal rings which -encircle the white tusks of the larger ones look like gold, but their -small peculiar eyes forbid close examination. These bundles of fresh -grass by the door are cut by state criminals, whose lifelong business -it is each morning to furnish sufficient for the day. There are -several other stables, each having three or more elephants, but we -will not prolong our walk, for I think you must be satisfied with -sight-seeing for one day. The tide will be with us, and we will return -at once to the mission premises, some miles below us, leaving other -objects of interest till another day. I should like you to visit the -royal mint, the spacious, elegant building where the curious money is -made, and you ought not to return to America without attending the -centennial exhibition, for Bangkok is now (in 1882) one hundred years -old. It is said that the royal jewelry there on exhibition is valued -at about five million dollars. There is a pyramid of untold wealth -which from base to summit is brilliant with rings, crowns, rich -chains, bracelets and anklets, and boxes with diamonds and precious -stones of every description. Light is thrown on it by reflectors, so -that the beautiful things are seen to the best possible advantage. - -As we came up the river I did not point out to you our _upper_ -Presbyterian mission-station. It is just here on our right. The fine -building is the girls’ boarding-school, the first in the kingdom of -Siam. The pretty chapel connected with the school was built by gifts -from American women. - -We are just passing on our left the Baptist mission to the Chinese, -and the little English chapel, where there is English service every -Sabbath afternoon, conducted by the missionaries. And now here we are -at our own landing again. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -_TOURING IN SIAM._ - - -In the cool season in Siam, or in the months of December and January, -the missionaries frequently go in boats into the country, to be absent -two, three, or four weeks at a time, and as there are no hotels in -Siam they live in their boats day and night. These boats have a snug -little house in the centre, about seven by five and a half feet, and -are propelled by six boatmen, who use long oars and stand behind them -when rowing. They are paid about twenty cents a day, and their rice is -given them. The missionaries take with them hundreds of religious -books and tracts in the Siamese language, which they distribute as -they travel from village to village, preaching and giving instruction -to all who will listen. - -Perhaps you will be interested in an account of one of these mission -tours taken by Dr. House and myself. - -One fine December morning, after seeing our books, clothing, bedding, -provisions, dishes, cooking utensils, and even our table, all snugly -stowed away in the little boat, we left our quiet home in Bangkok, the -capital city. - -[Illustration: MISSIONARY-BOAT FOR TOURING IN SIAM.] - -Ascending the beautiful Menam River, we made our way among numerous -boats of every size and description, ships displaying the flags of -several different nations, and gayly-painted, clumsy Chinese junks -that were moored by their huge cables in the stream, and on, on we -went, leaving the busy, idolatrous city behind us. At five o’clock we -stopped at a pleasant Buddhist temple by the river-side for our -evening meal. This finished, we moved on for an hour or two after -dark, and then moored our boat for the night by fastening it to two -bamboo poles which our men had planted in the soft mud near the bank. - -Here let me tell you what our sleeping arrangements were for each -night. What had been our dining- and sitting-room through the day was -soon converted into a bedroom, and in a very simple way too. The seats -of our boat were arranged along the sides, omnibus-fashion, and, -filling up the space between these with boards made for the purpose, -we had our bedstead, and our boat-cushions made our bed. Having spread -our bedding and hung up the indispensable mosquito-net by strings from -the four corners of the roof, we were ready to commend ourselves to -the kind care of Him who never slumbers, and lay us down for a good -night’s sleep. - -The boatmen spread their mats on the deck outside the cabin, and, -putting up a kind of temporary roof made of leaves fastened together, -they were protected from the dew, and were contented and happy. - -Generally at daylight every morning the men would move on a while -before breakfast. We always preferred to stop for meals or for the -night near some temple or village. - -While taking our dinner one day the two windows of our boat on the -side of the river-bank being open, the people who were collected there -seemed much pleased to see us use knives, forks and spoons. It was a -novel sight to them, as they use the fingers instead. An aged couple -watched us with much seeming interest for some time, and then the -husband said to his wife, “_Kin yark nuk_” (They eat with great -difficulty). - -When we first went to Siam not one woman or little girl in one hundred -could read, although all the boys are taught by the priests in the -temples to read and to write. One day a very bright, interesting -little girl, twelve years old perhaps, came to our boat to see the -strangers, and when asked if she could read, she did not answer yes or -no, but with surprise exclaimed, “Why, I’m a _girl_!” as if we ought -to have known better than to ask a girl such a question. - -One day, while our cook was preparing our simple meal of rice and -curry, we walked out into the pleasant grounds of a temple. Here we -found a fine large tree whose beautiful white, wax-like flowers -attracted us by their fragrance. While gathering some of them a young -man came up and spoke to us. Fearing he would think we were going to -offer the flowers to the idols in the temple, Dr. House said, “I am -not going to offer these, as you would, to idols which can neither see -nor smell them, but shall give them to my wife, who can enjoy them.” -The tree seemed almost alive with gay butterflies. Several priests had -gathered about us, and when they were asked if all this life and -happiness and beauty did not make them think there must be a wise and -good Creator who made the trees, flowers and butterflies with their -gay dress, they replied “_Pen eng_” (They made themselves). Oh, is it -not sad that the religion of this poor people teaches them there is no -living God, no Creator who made this beautiful world? The dead god -Buddha that they worship, whose images are in every temple, was but a -man like themselves, and, now that he has left the world, knows and -cares nothing about it. - -An old priest begged our umbrella. The doctor said, “If I give it to -you, very soon you will want to make merit, and will perhaps spread it -over some senseless idol of brick and mortar that cannot feel the heat -as we do.” Soon after, as they followed us to the boat, we actually -saw an old umbrella which the wind had blown from a dilapidated image -it had sheltered. When reminded of what had just been said, they -laughed heartily, but I fear were not convinced of the folly of doing -such things. - -In the listening group one day was a gray-headed man, who asked, “Is -Jesus the same as God?” “What must we do that the Lord Jesus may save -us?” “What deeds of merit must we do to be followers of the true God?” -When we told him that we left our home, our parents and our friends, -and journeyed many thousand miles over the sea, on purpose to tell him -and his countrymen of the religion of Jesus, the only Saviour from -sin, he thanked us. We gave him a gospel tract on prayer, hoping that -the light he had received might lead him to pray for more. - -On one occasion we stopped at an old preaching-place to rest. Let me -tell you what a queer place it was for a sermon. It was a large room -open on all sides and decorated with sticks of very small bamboo, to -which were pasted small triangular pieces of white paper. Thousands of -these were clustered fancifully together. From the ceiling in the -centre of the room hung a piece of cloth two or three yards long, on -which was a coarse picture of Buddha with a disciple on each side of -him, and above them in the clouds angels with flowers. Below them, on -a black ground to represent darkness, were painted persons suffering -the torments of hell and the priests trying to assist them. - -The pulpit was a kind of high, armed chair, coarsely decorated. In -this the yellow-robed priests sit cross-legged and preach in a -singsong tone. Seeing two images of Buddha there, we told those -assembled of the sin and folly of trusting in them. A young man -replied at once, “How should we know better, when there is no one to -tell us? I beg to listen while you tell us;” and he did listen very -attentively. His question touchingly reminded us of the words of Paul: -“How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how -shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall -they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they -be sent?” (Rom. 10:14). - -One day we visited an image-house, and found one idol that had fallen -over backward, another without a head, another without arms. When we -came out an old priest asked us if we had been in to worship. We -replied, “No, indeed! What we saw there were objects of pity rather -than of adoration. They cannot take care of themselves, cannot hold -themselves up; what can they do for you or for us?” - -Thus we went from one village to another, conversing with hundreds of -the people and giving away our books until they were gone. - - -A VISIT TO THE “MECCA” OF THE SIAMESE. - -Every February multitudes of the Siamese visit Prabat. The word means -sacred foot, and it is supposed that Buddha left a clear imprint of -his foot in a rock on a mountain there, which is a standing proof to -all his followers that he once not only really lived upon earth, but -that he visited Siam. - -[Illustration: PRABAT.] - -Let me tell you of a visit Dr. House and I once made to this sacred -spot. As most of the traveling in Siam is in boats, we left home in -ours one fine day in February, taking with us some Christian books and -tracts. We ascended the beautiful Menam River, passing many -thatched-roof villages and scores of temples. At Ayuthia, the old -capital of the kingdom, we took the eastern branch of the river, and -on the evening of the third day we reached Ta Rua, where we made our -way to a landing-place through an immense number of boats of every -description. From here we were to proceed by land to Prabat, a -distance of about fourteen miles, and after engaging an elephant and -making other arrangements, little time was left us for rest. - -At two o’clock in the morning we were awakened and told that the -elephant was in readiness. It was quite dark, and as by the dim -torchlight I saw before me the huge form of the creature I was to -mount, I confess to considerable reluctance and trembling. My husband -climbed up first, and then, the elephant putting out his knee to -receive me as it had him, I stepped upon it and with help managed to -reach my lofty perch. The driver kept his place astride the creature’s -neck. One of the men scrambled up behind, and we were off, leaving the -others to follow us soon in a buffalo-cart. It was too dark for any -but a practiced eye to see the road, and in less than half an hour our -driver contrived to lose the way, so that until daylight we groped on -through the jungle, not knowing into what pit the beast might fall or -when it might brush against a tree and throw us off. Committing -ourselves to the great Care-taker, we watched for the first rays of -morning light to guide us on our course, and when some time after -sunrise we struck upon the beaten path we were happy and grateful -indeed. Now I could see where I was, and found myself seated in a -howdah, or covered saddle, made of strong wood. The top was a kind of -basket-work lined with leaves, and so arranged as to protect us from -sun and rain and from branches of trees as we passed. The elephant was -about nine feet high, and the seat was raised at least a foot above -his back. To novices the elephant-ride is apt to be rather alarming. - -Our road much of the way lay through a beautiful piece of woods, the -trees sometimes forming an arch over our heads. We passed multitudes -of pilgrims going or returning, some riding on elephants, some in -buffalo-carts and some on foot; also groups of natives seated by the -wayside with _kowlan_ (rice cooked in joints of bamboo), palm-tree -sugar, wild honey in the comb, etc., to sell to passers-by. I enjoyed -the ride and the novelty of the scenes around me very much. The motion -and the creaking sound reminded us of an old-fashioned stage-coach on -springs. The driver was asked how so huge an animal could be so easily -controlled by man. He held up his stick, at the end of which was, not -a lash, but a pointed iron spike or hook about three inches long and -as large as one’s finger. He said, “This is what makes them -submissive.” Well may the poor creatures fear it, for it is sometimes -driven most unmercifully into their heads. - -Our kind heavenly Father watched over us, our beast behaved nobly, and -we arrived at Prabat safely about ten o’clock in the morning, instead -of at seven, as we should if we had not lost our way. Here, nestling -under the rocky sides of the mountain, were several _wats_, -or monasteries, with their many dwellings for the priests, -preaching-places, and huge image-houses, like the one seen on the -right of the picture (p. 103). Hundreds of bamboo huts had been newly -erected for the accommodation of the multitudes there assembled. The -air was filled with the melody of sweet-toned bells and the lively -tinkling music of numerous Siamese bands. A newly-vacated priests’ -house in one of the monasteries was soon put at our disposal. It -contained but a single small room, with two windows and a little low -door. There was a veranda on one side, where our servants could be -accommodated. Travelers, in this country especially, must not be -fastidious, and we were too glad to secure the shelter and the -retirement the little dormitory promised to be disposed to look -farther. On taking possession we found an old rice-pot, remnants of -priests’ yellow robes and plenty of dirt. One of our men soon disposed -of the rubbish and made all as clean as he could without broom or -water. Furnishing the room with the mats and cushions brought with us -from the boat, we seated ourselves upon them Siamese fashion and with -good appetites partook of our midday meal. - -Before us we could see the picturesque mountain with its many -white-spired pagodas and the splendid shrine or temple which is built -over the sacred footprint. In the picture it is the elegant structure -which you see, with a seven-storied roof terminating in a graceful -tapering spire (p. 103). The whole being richly gilded, the rays of -the sun resting upon it made it very beautiful. Having dined, we made -our way to this temple. The rocky platform on which it stands is -reached by some fifty or more steps (not seen in the picture), which -devout Buddhists always ascend on their knees. Its outer walls are -covered with bright mosaic. The large double doors are beautifully -inlaid with figures of mother-of-pearl. On the inner walls are painted -scenes from the life of Buddha. The apartment is about thirty feet -square, and the floor is covered with plates of what they say is -silver. On the walls hangs what is said to be a representation of the -footprint, set with jewels and made of beaten gold. It is about four -feet long and one and a half broad. Of what is worshiped as the -footprint itself we could see nothing but a dark oblong opening in the -floor like a small open grave. It is enclosed in a railing about a -foot high, said to be of solid silver, and over it is an elegant gilt -canopy with curtains of gold cloth at the sides. - -There were many worshipers within the temple, and a great number of -small wax candles or tapers burning. The poor devotees entered the -sacred spot on their knees, and, crawling beside the footprint, bowed -the head three times to the floor and laid their offering within the -enclosure. Then, crawling to some water that had probably been blessed -by the priests, they sprinkled their heads, and left the room, as they -entered it, upon their knees. Some who perhaps were too poor to make -any offering took up a priest’s fan and with all the solemnity -possible fanned the footprint. All these ceremonies were performed in -perfect silence, and the place seemed truly solemn. Oh, how my heart -ached to tell them the folly of all these things, and to point them to -the almighty One whose footprints can everywhere be traced in nature! - -When we were returning from the temple a messenger came running after -us and invited us to the house of his master, who proved to be a -nobleman of high rank from Bangkok. We had a very pleasant visit. -Oranges and wild honey were served, and we drank tea poured from a -massive gold teapot into tiny china cups. Many heard that afternoon -the message we had brought. Reaching our house at evening, we spread -our mats and took our seats upon the veranda. A crowd of people, who, -like all the rest, had come there to make merit, soon collected around -us. They supposed we also came to make merit, and there was no lack of -opportunity for us to do so by giving to the various beggars that -presented themselves. First came two distressed lepers. One, not able -to walk, hitched himself along on the ground. He beat a Siamese drum -with the stumps of his fingers, while the other beat two pieces of -bamboo together, both singing at the same time the sad tale of their -sufferings and inability to earn a living. Complimenting our -generosity in advance, they begged for money. As they were really -objects of pity, we gave each of them a small silver coin, upon which -they broke forth in a shower of blessings: “May you flourish in this -state of being and in the next――have elephants, horses and servants, -silver and gold, rice, salt and every good thing! May your age be -lengthened out to a hundred years, a thousand years! May you have -handsome children――sons who shall be priests and head priests! May you -live in a well-built house with many roofs!” etc. A blind man came -singing and beating two pieces of brass together; then an old man with -a withered arm; and so they kept coming as long as we would listen to -them. We improved the opportunity to tell these poor creatures the -story of the blessed Jesus, who, while upon earth, healed the leper, -restored the withered hand and gave sight to the blind, and who is now -both able and willing to heal the greater maladies of the soul. - -The next day was the Sabbath, and during morning worship with our -servants many came around the door to listen. After worship Dr. House -left me to receive any visitors who might call for conversation or -books, and went forth on his labor of love, spending the day till dusk -among the people. Hundreds heard from his lips of the great Being who -made them and of the Redeemer who died to save them, and among them -were many attentive listeners. - -Monday morning we left for home. About eight o’clock there were two -elephants at the door for ourselves and our men. This time we mounted -ours with the help of a ladder placed against his side, and now, more -at home in the lofty saddle, I quite enjoyed my ride. No special -adventure befell us on the way, and about one o’clock we reached our -boat and found all in it safe. Paying our boat-keeper his moderate -charge for the care of it during our absence, and having rested and -dined, we were soon in our boat and again on our homeward way. We -visited the villages on the banks, distributed our remaining books, -and talked with the people in their homes and the priests in their -_wats_, or temples. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_IN AND ABOUT PETCHABUREE._ - - -Our mission-boat, with its drawers and cupboards and shelves for -storing away food, clothes, etc., awaits us at Bangkok. Rowers are -hired for twenty-four cents per day, with enough rice for food. We -start out with the rising tide in our favor. The boat moves steadily -on. Reading, conversation and sleeping fill our time. At last we -notice that the houses along the banks are larger and better built, -and, passing around a bend of the river, we see our mission compound, -consisting of three large brick houses and one smaller. Two of the -houses are occupied by the mission family; the third is the -Petchaburee Home for Siamese girls, in charge of the missionary -ladies. The chapel front is used for worship each morning. The small -house is Dr. Sturge’s hospital. - -Leaving the boat, we climb the steps on the left bank, and enter the -yard with its green grass and blooming flowers. We are gladly -welcomed, for our arrival here is a great treat. - -[Illustration: HOUSE AT PETCHABUREE.] - -Siam is one of the hot countries where everything moves slowly. Our -boat-trip of from thirty-six to forty-eight hours has made us glad to -rest till evening. When it is cooler we will take a walk to the -nearest mountain, which is about three-quarters of a mile from the -mission compound. The road along the river-bank is forty or fifty feet -wide and very smooth, and shaded on either side by beautiful trees. We -pass several native houses, and come to a beautiful grassy plain, -beyond which are rice-fields reaching to the foot of “The Mountain of -the Highest Heaven.” On its summit stands the large royal summer -palace, built by the late supreme king, whose white buildings glitter -in the sun and form a beautiful contrast to the green ranges of -distant hills. His Majesty and his court spend part of every year -here. A paved walk with steps leads up the hill. Passing some plain -two-story brick buildings, you come to the wide terraces and -surrounding barracks of His Majesty’s private apartments, the walls of -which are covered with rough paintings representing some of the -Buddhistic fables. The floor of the king’s reception-room is paved -with marble blocks about a foot square, and at one side is a raised -seat for the king. Royalty in Siam never sits on a level with common -people. A very pretty Brussels mat is placed for the king’s feet, and -when he visits the palace a set of stuffed chairs covered with blue -brocade satin are brought to ornament the place. - -There are a number of smaller buildings surrounding the palace for the -numerous attendants of the king. On the very summit of the hill, -separate from the palace, is a large audience-hall――a long, low room, -almost entirely bare, with a semi-circular throne, consisting of four -stone steps, at one end. Two large Siamese paintings――“The Reception -of the French Ambassadors at Court” and “Bonzes Worshiping -Gaudama”――are painted on the side-walls. There is also a round brick -tower about thirty feet in height, used as an observatory. The view -from this tower is enchanting――on one side extensive fields of ripened -paddy, groves of sugar-palms and cocoanuts, with here and there a hill -rising abruptly from the plain; the city, the river, the canals, and -far off to the east the blue waters of the gulf; west and south there -extend at least three distinct ranges of low, thickly-wooded hills. - -If it were earlier in the day we would ascend the mountain and visit -the Buddhist temple and large pagoda near, and measure the great image -of Buddha, each foot seven feet long, with fingers and toes as large -around as the body of a stout person; but it is nearing sunset and we -turn our faces homeward. - -Our road now leads through rice-fields, which reach to the foot of the -mountain. We meet people coming home from their work in the fields. -Some of them have poles across their shoulders, to which are attached -bundles of sticks for fuel or perhaps sheaves of rice which they have -gathered. Some stop to speak to us or to look at us, and we give them -a tract or one of the Gospels; but we must not tarry, for when the sun -is gone in these tropical countries it is soon dark. The brick -building a little to the right as we return is the Presbyterian church -of Petchaburee. - -[Illustration: VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS OF PETCHABUREE.] - -The next morning we take an early start for the Royal Cave. It is too -far to walk, so we ride over the road which we took before to the foot -of the mountain, then off to the right, a mile, to another mountain. -We leave the conveyance and climb the mountain-side to a gate, which -we enter, and find steps which lead down into the cave. The nooks and -corners are filled with idols and figures representing the miseries of -the lost, and the bottom of the cave is paved with tiles and -surrounded on all sides with rows of idols, large and small. The cave -itself is grand, with its columns of stalactites and stalagmites. From -one of the former water drops so fast that a plaster basin has been -made to receive it. This water is very cool and pleasant to drink. An -opening at the top of the cave admits the sunshine and brightens the -whole scene. Here are two large rooms, the second unpaved, but having -rows of idols, and being lighted from the top like the first. Passing -through this room, we come into a narrow way as dark as possible, -leading into a very small space lighted from above, where we find a -very long ladder. Up, up, we go, and again we find ourselves on the -mountain-side. We are glad to return home, for the heat has grown very -oppressive while we have been in the cave. - -At about three o’clock we will take a walk to the city to see the -market, and as we stroll along the bank of the river we pass the three -brick houses belonging to the ex-regent of Siam. These are thickly -shaded by large trees, and the green lawn is bounded by a hedge. Here -we enter a street of the city, and soon come to a massive bridge, and, -turning to the left, cross the river and find ourselves upon the main -street of the city. It seems strange to call it a city, and yet its -population is estimated at twenty thousand. The streets are very -narrow and have no sidewalks. Some of the houses are brick and some -bamboo. The stores have an open room next the street, with a little -porch where the salesman or saleswoman sits. The people who have -brought articles to market for sale have arranged their wares on -either side the street, and now we are surrounded by fish, pork, -vegetables and fruits in such abundance that it is difficult to make -one’s way among them. - -As we pass up the street we come to a large open gate on either side. -That on the left opens into the governor’s grounds. His Excellency is -hearing a case. The court-room is simply a shed, where the governor -sits on a chair or bench, while the accused and accuser, the witnesses -and judges, sit on the ground at his feet. The gate on the right opens -into a yard surrounding the new courthouse, a good brick building, -from which a walk leads to the river. This river is like one street of -the city, for boats are passing and repassing constantly. - -Leaving the market, we pass on and find the houses built farther -apart, and there are more shade-trees. The people on either side are -cooking their rice, and some are already eating. Soon we come to a -nice clean cross-street, and, following this, we reach another running -parallel with the river, and the prettiest street of the city. It has -plenty of shade and several temples, including one in Chinese -architecture, highly ornamented. In the temple-grounds are some very -pretty flowers, and when we reach the governor’s place we find a -really beautiful garden, with a summer-house covered with blooming -vines standing in the midst, surrounded by a variety of well-selected -and beautifully-arranged flowers. A little farther on we come to a -cross-street that brings us to the vice-governor’s place, back across -the main street and to the bridge. We pause here for our final look at -the lovely scene. Up and down the river boats are passing constantly. -On either side of the stream are stately palms, the spreading mango -and the feathery branches of the bamboo. Facing the bridge where we -stand is Palace Mountain, with its sides dressed in green and its -summit crowned with the brilliancy of the setting sun. We gaze on its -splendor, and as we stand hushed by the beauty all about us, our -hearts go up in prayer that it may be but a symbol of the beauty of -holiness that shall soon cover this fair land. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -_THE ANIMALS OF SIAM._ - - -Provided with a tropical climate, the forests and jungles, the air and -the water of Siam, teem with animal life. The elephant heads the list. -It is said that the king can muster thousands of trained elephants for -service in war. Tigers and bears, rhinoceri, deer, wild goats and -porcupines are numerous. The bones of the tiger are sold as a tonic, -and rhinoceros-horns sell in Bangkok for more than their weight in -silver. The cattle are small, and are used only to tread out the grain -or with pack-saddles to transport rice, silk or army supplies. The -buffalo, or ungainly water-ox, takes the place of our oxen. The -Siamese have no milch cattle, and know nothing of butter or cheese, -and their religion forbids them to slaughter for food. - -While the Siamese have great veneration for the white elephant, the -white monkey, the white squirrel and some other white animals, they -have a great dislike to a white cat. Their cats differ from ours in -color. Some have long tails and some short ones; some have curled -tails that look as if they had a knot tied in them, and some have no -tails at all. - -Miserable yellow dogs of the pariah race may be counted by thousands. -They are a great annoyance to missionaries when they go into the -country distributing books from house to house. We have had seven or -eight rush out at us from one house, and it was only by the greatest -watchfulness on our part and that of our servants that they could be -kept from pouncing upon us. It really requires a brave heart to -venture among them on such occasions. - -[Illustration: MONKEYS.] - -When out in the country in our boats we have seen scores of monkeys -with their young leaping from branch to branch on the trees or playing -their antics on the bank, and thousands of bats, that prey upon the -fruit-gardens by night, and during the day may be seen hanging by -their feet in their shady haunts. - -[Illustration: JAVA SPARROWS.] - -Siam has a variety of birds――the snow-white rice-bird, the kingfisher, -the gay peacock, the pheasant, the parrot, and thieving crows of -amazing number and audacity. There are many singing birds, among them -a species of thrush that imitates all the sounds he hears. He will -imitate the human voice, and bark, mew and crow. There is a small -black-and-white bird that sings very sweetly at daybreak. Our domestic -fowl is at home in Siamese jungles. Pelicans and other waterfowl -abound. - -The chief food of the common people is fish. They are found in great -variety, and some of them are delicious. The streams so swarm with -them that they often jump into the passing boats. - -[Illustration: THE COBRA.] - -There are snakes, scorpions and centipedes in Siam, all of which -frequently find their way into our houses. Some of the snakes are very -venomous; among these the cobra, or hooded serpent, is abundant, and -boa-constrictors ten and twelve feet long have often been killed while -robbing our hen-roosts in Bangkok. One morning, on going into my -bathroom, I found a snake three feet long. On another occasion, when -about to retire, we found a very poisonous one under our bed. One of -our missionaries carelessly left his trunk open, and when he went for -a change of linen, he found a snake coiled up in the bottom of it. I -have found scorpions on my bed-curtains, on my centre-table and -elsewhere, and frequently in my clothes-basket. - -But more than all these we dreaded the mosquito, from which we were -never free, day or night. At some seasons of the year these little -tormentors were almost more than we could bear. - -There are ants too, large and small, black, white and red, and their -name is legion. Sideboards, tables or anything else in Siam upon which -food is placed must stand in bowls of water or oil, and it will not do -to forget this even for a few moments. One morning, on my way to the -dining-room, I stopped and admired my canary bird that was hanging on -my front veranda. Going out again after breakfast, I saw a procession -of beautiful yellow feathers moving along on a beam over head, and on -hastening to the cage I found my pet lying dead, stung to death by the -red ants and nearly stripped of its plumage. One of our missionary -families once went to spend a few weeks at another mission-station, -and on their return they found the white ants had come up through the -floor and had eaten their way through a trunk to the top, and every -fold of the garments needed mending. - -We never wearied watching the fireflies as in countless multitudes -they would spread themselves over the branches of their favorite -trees, and alternately, with the utmost regularity and exactness, all -at once give out their diamond spark or hide their light in darkness. - -We were often serenaded at evening as we sat on our veranda by -grasshoppers and crickets, while immense frogs would sing the bass in -the grand chorus. - -Beautiful, harmless little lizards, about a finger long, ready for -their evening meal of mosquitoes and other insects, make their -appearance on our walls and ceilings as soon as the lamps are lighted. -I have often counted between twenty and thirty of them out at once. -There is another lizard, almost as large as a young kitten, which also -comes out on our walls for his evening meal, having hid through the -day behind our mirrors or pictures. It is quite harmless, but with its -loud outcry of _tookaah! tookaah!_ it often startles new-comers from -their midnight slumbers. - -There are crocodiles in great numbers in the rivers and creeks of -Siam. In one day’s boatride on the Upper Menam, Dr. House once counted -one hundred and seventy, varying in size from three to fifteen feet. - -Let me tell one or two true stories of crocodiles. When we were once -visiting the mission-station at Petchaburee a crocodile seized a young -girl twelve years old and devoured her, leaving only an arm in the -boat. The governor, wishing to destroy the monster, ordered a search -to be made for it, and invited us to see the captures which his men -made and brought to our landing. Three huge fellows, averaging twelve -feet each, lay securely pinioned on the bottom of their boat, but -neither of them proved to be the one sought for. - -[Illustration: HUNTING THE CROCODILE.] - -In the strange providence of God, whose kingdom ruleth over all, one -of these terrible creatures once became the means of salvation to a -Chinese fisherman in Siam, and through him of founding in a distant -and important town a native church which now has many Chinese -communicants. He was wading in the shallows at the head of the Gulf of -Siam, collecting shellfish, when what he supposed was a log drifting -toward him proved to be a huge crocodile, which attacked him fiercely, -biting off his hand, so that it only hung by the tendons of the wrist. -At his cries for help his comrades came and drove the creature away. -Mortification set in, which would have ended in death had he not -sought the missionary physician in Bangkok. My husband amputated the -arm, the stump healed kindly, and when, at the end of the month, he -left the mission hospital to return home, his gratitude and trust in -those whose Christian kindness and care had saved his life led him to -say that _their_ God, of whom they had told him, should henceforth be -_his_ God. From that time he gave up the worship of idols and refused -to work on the Christian Sabbath. As he spoke only the dialect used by -the brethren of the American Baptist mission, who are laboring among -the Chinese of Siam, he was referred to them for further instruction, -and was soon baptized. He invited the missionaries and native -assistant to make his house at Bangplasoi a preaching-station. Some of -his relatives and others were converted, a mission-chapel was built -(largely with his assistance), and now there are there several hundred -Chinese converts from heathenism, and Bangplasoi is an important -mission-station among the Chinese. - - -ELEPHANTS. - -Having lived twenty years in “The Land of the White Elephant,” whose -king has for one of his titles “The Lord of the White Elephant,” and -whose flag is a white elephant on a red ground, having often ridden on -elephants, and my husband having twice narrowly escaped with his life -when traveling with them, once having been badly gored by one,――I may -be permitted to say something not only of the white elephant, but of -his less-esteemed relatives of a darker complexion. - -[Illustration: ELEPHANTS AT HOME.] - -Elephants are found in great numbers and perfection in Siam and the -Laos country at the north. Our missionaries at Cheung Mai, the capital -city of the Laos, tell us they not unfrequently see hundreds pass in a -single day, and when a prince leaves home he is accompanied by a train -of two or three hundred. - -They sometimes attain to the height of ten or eleven feet, but -whatever their height may be, it is a fact, which we have often proved -by actual measurement, that it never exceeds twice the circumference -of the foot. They are very long-lived, sometimes living one hundred -and fifty years or more. They are used as beasts of burden and in war, -for dragging timber from the forests and for traveling, and their -tusks, it is well known, are a valuable article of commerce. - -[Illustration: AN ELEPHANT PLOUGHING.] - -It would be hardly possible for one to make his way through the -jungles of Siam without the elephant. He does not put his foot down -till he is sure it is safe to do so, and then _you_ may feel sure too. -He will remove with his trunk interlacing vines, projecting branches -of trees and everything that would hinder his progress, and if -necessary he will drag himself on knees or belly over a swamp. If he -has a stream to cross he will first, with his proboscis, find how deep -it is, then move slowly and cautiously till he gets beyond his depth, -when he will swim. He will descend into ravines into which men cannot -go, and will climb steep mountains. He will travel from four to five -miles an hour, and when weary will make known to his driver his wish -to rest by striking the ground with his trunk, making a peculiar and -unmistakable noise. A large trunk is considered a mark of great beauty -in an elephant, but as he always carries it himself, no one can object -to it. The driver is seated astride the neck. The elephant carries his -head so steadily that this is the most desirable seat, because there -is the least motion. It is the seat of honor for the king, who glories -in managing his own beast. The driver always carries with him a large -stick, at the end of which is a sharp-pointed iron hook, with which he -beats the animal, when unruly, unmercifully over the head and temples -till he is subdued. - -Elephants are very sagacious animals, and many amusing and interesting -stories are told of them. It is said that one of them was once taught -to stand at the gate of the king’s palace and from a large vessel -placed there, filled with rice, take out some with a huge spoon and -give to every priest that passed. I cannot vouch for the truth of -this, but more wonderful instances of sagacity can be verified. The -white elephants in the king’s stables in Bangkok have been taught to -salute His Majesty by raising their trunks high above their heads. - -While I resided in Siam an American friend went with his wife from -Bangkok through the wilderness to British Burmah. They traveled nearly -two hundred miles, and used some fourteen different elephants, paying -about fifty cents a day for each. At night these beasts were turned -out to browse among the bamboos, some of the drivers keeping watch. -When they were in the jungle bright fires were kept blazing. Awaking -one night from a sound sleep, and looking toward the blaze, my friend -saw among the outstretched sleeping men one of the huge elephants -seated on his haunches warming himself by the fire. He awoke his wife -to enjoy with him this strange and amusing sight in the solemn -stillness of the tropical forest. - -In March of every year a large number of wild elephants are captured -at the city of Ayuthia, and from them His Majesty makes selections for -his royal stables in Bangkok. For eight or ten weeks hundreds of men -are employed to drive them from the forests where they roam, that they -may be nearer the city. On the day appointed for their capture a -number of tame ones are used to entice them into the enclosure -prepared for them, and they seem to take great pleasure and show -wonderful sagacity in helping to capture their kindred. They will hem -in some two hundred wild ones, and with the help of their drivers and -attendants compel them to enter through the gate into the enclosure. -Some go in quietly, and others make great resistance. Such as His -Majesty fancies are then secured by strong noosed ropes cautiously -slipped over their feet and fastened to trees or posts. When -thoroughly subdued by hunger or hard blows they are brought down to -Bangkok. After a time they become quite reconciled to their new -surroundings, and show no disposition to return to their forest home. - -Nothing can equal the veneration of the Siamese for the so-called -white elephant, though the only really _white_ elephant is upon their -national flag. Sometimes one is found something the color of a Bath -brick (used for cleaning knives) or a little darker, and is so much -lighter-colored than usual that it is spoken of as _white_; but most -of these are only lighter in patches on shoulders, neck, head and -inside of the ears. All over the kingdom, when such an albino is -found, there is great rejoicing, and the finder is very handsomely -rewarded. They come, as a rule, from the Laos territory to the north. - -The country whose king is the fortunate possessor of one or more of -these treasures is thought to be greatly blessed, and no amount of -money can purchase one. The royal stables of Bangkok are seldom -without an occupant. I have several times visited them. Siam should be -very prosperous now, as His Majesty has five of these so-called white -elephants. They are kept in a long block of buildings at the rear of -the arsenal. Each one has an entire stable for his own use, his grooms -and attendants sleeping at one end of it. The stable is high and -spacious, and at one end is a small image of Buddha with lamps burning -in front. Each has a royal title, and there is a handsome sign over -the door giving in large gilt letters the full name and title of the -inmate. The great beast stands on a handsomely-built pedestal raised -about a foot from the floor, with its top just large enough to hold -him. He has rings of gold on his tusks, and is fastened by one fore -and one hind foot to gilded posts with ropes covered with crimson -velvet. These royal captives are fed with bananas, sugar-cane and -other dainties, and with small bundles of fresh grass, all carried to -them on silver salvers by men on their knees. Every want of these -royal beasts is carefully attended to. A recent visitor says: “He -stands proudly yet restlessly on his contracted throne, and lashes his -trunk and sways his heavy head and tusks around in an imperious, -lordly manner, trumpeting now and then until the whole hall trembles -with the deafening reverberation. When he is seen to itch in any part -of his body his royal hide is promptly scratched with a small iron -rake-like instrument with a long handle; his eyes are reverently -wiped, and he has a cool sponge-bath every hour or two of day and -night during the hot season.” - -When one of these rare creatures is found in any of the northern -provinces the governor of that province sees that he is comfortably -escorted through the forest to the river, where he is received on a -handsomely-decorated raft of bamboos, placed in a canopy in the centre -of the raft, garlanded with flowers and pampered with delicacies. The -king, with his whole court in their elegant barges, and myriads of -people in boats, with banners and music, go up the river two days’ -journey to meet him. As all are anxious to share the honor of bringing -him down to the city, each boat has a rope attached to the raft, and -shouts of joy fill the air as he progresses. On arriving, a pavilion -in the palace-grounds is ready to receive him, a title is given him -and slaves appointed to care for him. A public festival of a week’s -continuance is appointed; priests of the highest grade chant prayers -in his presence daily. When sick he is attended by the wisest of the -court physicians; the priests wait upon him, sprinkle him with -consecrated water and pray for his recovery. If he dies there is -universal mourning, and funeral honors are paid to his remains. - -One day a strange procession passed down the river in front of our -house in Bangkok. There were eight large barges, six of them with -curtains of crimson and gold cloth, each manned by about thirty -boatmen dressed in red trousers, jackets and caps. They had a brass -band, which made very mournful music, for it was a funeral occasion. -The first impression was that some personage eminent for rank was -being borne to sepulture; but no, this procession was simply doing -honor to the dead body of a light-colored elephant. - -The third and fourth boats had no gay curtains, but they had the -five-storied umbrellas which denote great rank, and between these two -boats the corpse was fastened and floated in the water. There was a -canopy of white cloth over it to protect it from the sun. Phya is a -title given to a high order of nobility in Siam, and this -distinguished elephant was named Phya Sawate. It was so highly -esteemed that more than two hundred men escorted it to its last -resting-place. - -Now, why such parade and ceremony? For the strange reason that the -Siamese, with all other Buddhists, believe that at death their spirits -pass into the body of some man or animal, of more or less importance -according to the amount of merit made while living, and that they may -be thus born thousands of times. If they find an elephant of a lighter -complexion than usual, they think the spirit of some distinguished -person dwells in it――possibly, that of some future Buddha, sure to -bring a blessing on the country which possesses so great a treasure. - -We hope that the day will soon come when Christianity will supplant -Buddhism, and the Siamese be wise enough to prize the elephant only -for what it can do in the service of man. - - -RECEPTION OF A WHITE ELEPHANT AT THE COURT OF SIAM. - -A few years ago two Siamese peasants of the up-country, far to the -north, were ordered by the governor of the province to go out into the -jungle and hunt for a white elephant. The “Stones,” or astrologers, -having prophesied that the present reign would be especially lucky, -and that several of these spotted or albino elephants would be caught, -constant vigilance had been enjoined on all the provincial officials -of these regions, and large royal bounty was promised to the finders -of such a prize. - -Accordingly, leaving their homes and families, these poor men went out -to live in the malarious jungle, wandering hither and thither for many -weary weeks in vain, by day forcing their way through the rank -undergrowth, anxiously following the tracks of the wild elephants up -and down the streams, living on the fruit that grew on trees unplanted -by man and the fish in the mountain-lakes; at night bivouacking under -the stars, each in turn watching while the other slept to keep up the -great fire built to protect their resting-spot from the fierce animals -prowling about under the cover of darkness. Thus day after day and -week after week they sought for the coveted white elephant which -should ensure to those who found him the richest reward. - -At length, on the very point of giving up their search in despair, -they had turned their faces homeward, when all of a sudden a small, -beautifully-formed elephant was seen at a distance, drinking. He was -all muddy and dirty, and at first sight appeared darker than the -ordinary color of this animal. But some peculiarity in the skin -aroused hope. “Let us creep nearer and trap him,” they whispered. This -was an easy task to such skilled native hunters. The iris of the eye, -the color of which is held to be a good test of an albino, encouraged -their faint expectation; it was a pale Neapolitan yellow. - -One of them said, “We will take him home and give him a wash.” This -was done, and to their great joy the whole body proved to be of a pale -Bath-brick color, with a few real white hairs on the back. There could -be no longer room for doubt; they had truly captured one of the -world-renowned white elephants. Indeed, competent experts pronounced -it to be the “fairest” ever caught within living memory. The ears and -tail were beautiful; the hair, the nails, the eyes, all were -indicative of the very highest family. He proved a pure albino, -so-called “white.” - -The whole kingdom was thrown into a state of the wildest excitement as -the news spread east and west, north and south. Swift runners carried -the glad tidings from hamlet to hamlet. “A white elephant has been -captured!” was in every mouth. A fleet messenger bore the official -document with the formal announcement down the river to Bangkok. The -king loaded his ears with gold. Each person in any way connected with -this great capture received some token of royal favor. The governor of -the province was made a phya; the poor finders were loaded with honors -and emoluments, at one step taking their places among the nobles of -the kingdom and receiving royal gifts and grants of land. His -Excellency the governor of one of the other provinces was despatched -with a suite of high officials and attendants skilled in the -management of elephants to escort this latest addition to the royal -stables. - -The date fixed for the actual reception of the royal stranger at the -capital was June 21st, and will long remain a red-letter day in the -Siamese annals. His Majesty, with his entire royal retinue, went up -the river sixty miles to Ayuthia, the ancient capital of Siam, some -days in advance, to meet the illustrious captive regarded as a -palladium for his own life and the prosperity of the empire. In -magnificently-adorned barges, escorting the noble beast to the capital -with great parade, music and rejoicings, the brilliant procession -returned. - -[Illustration: THE WHITE ELEPHANT.] - -Very early in the day the whole city was astir. The most intense -excitement prevailed. It was a great fête occasion. Old and young in -holiday garb thronged the verandas of the floating houses in Bangkok. -Crowds of country-folk from miles around flocked to the river, filling -the wat-grounds or crouching on their haunches along the banks, -waiting patiently for hours to catch a passing glimpse of the new -white elephant. - -The deep, wide river reflected the brilliancy of the blue sky overhead -and the innumerable barges and boats gayly decorated with bunting; -flags fluttered and gilt pagoda-spires glittered in the tropical -sunlight above the mass of foliage and monotonous sloping roofs on -either shore. - -Near the palace-grounds, as the time drew near for the procession to -approach, there was much running to and fro,――officials on horseback -galloping about, soldiers and marines in European uniforms drawn up -along the sides of the road, many carrying streamers or flags. Several -huge elephants in magnificent trappings, each bearing on his back a -richly-ornamented howdah and guided by a gayly-dressed _carnac_, or -driver, were brought down to the landing-place to meet the royal -procession. Near the bank stood a group of priests and white-robed -Brahmans with tall cone-shaped hats ornamented with broad gold bands. -Princes in full state uniforms were carried in litters, preceded and -followed by attendants bearing their insignia of official or social -rank――rods, seals, huge gilt umbrellas, betel-boxes, teapots, -water-goblets and all the ordinary trappings of the Siamese grandee -when he takes his walks or drives abroad. - -The national air, played by a brass band, heralded the approach of the -“conquering hero;” Siamese musicians performed with more noise than -musical effect on tomtoms, conch-shells and other native instruments; -heralds and chamberlains of the king’s body-guard preceded His -Majesty, seated cross-legged in a richly-inlaid chair, beneath the -huge royal umbrella. He wore a white India helmet, and numerous -jeweled orders adorned the breast of his crimson-and-gold coat. Pages -followed with gold betel-boxes and other costly articles. The highest -grandees of the kingdom brought up the rear. - -A temporary stable had been erected for this illustrious albino -pachyderm just outside the palace-grounds. He was mounted on a -platform, and his hind leg was attached by a rope to a white post. -Here, after numerous washings by pouring over him tamarind-water to -cleanse away all possible impurities, the new elephant was publicly -baptized and received official title as a grandee of Siam; after which -a high priest fed him with a piece of sugar-cane on which was written -his new title in full: Phra Sawet Sakoula Warophat, etc., etc., this -title including a long description of the great dignity, beauty, -virtues and priceless value of the royal animal. He was then brought -into the palace precincts and assigned a royal stable and numerous -attendants, who serve him with the respect shown to royalty itself, -and generally approach to feed and groom him on their hands and knees. - -A recent visitor to Bangkok thus describes him in his present home: -“One only of their number, the fifth and last one obtained, is of a -faint brick-red over his entire body, which gives him an odd and not -altogether unpleasant appearance. He is, moreover, young, lively and -good-natured, and salaams by raising his trunk straight and high above -his head to all well-dressed visitors in a way which quite scandalizes -his keepers, who have taught all the others to reserve that salute -solely for the king. Were he not himself too royal to be whipped, I -dare say that this merry pachyderm might soon be taught to recognize -the honor reserved to royalists. Time was when these beasts were duly -worshiped by king and people; their stables were palaces; they were -fed from golden dishes, and wore heavy gold rings upon their tusks and -were fettered with golden chains. Even now the populace fall with -their heads to the ground as they are led out richly caparisoned on -state occasions, while the royal officers, and even the king himself, -always make them obeisance in passing.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -_THE CHINESE IN SIAM._ - - -The Chinese have been in Siam since time immemorial, and have -increased, until now the Siamese say that more than half the -population is Chinese. - -There is no census taken in this country, and even the government has -no positive means of knowing the number of inhabitants. But we may -safely suppose the above statement to be true. The deck of every -steamer and sailing craft from China is swarming with these ubiquitous -Celestials. In the year 1767 the Burmese invaded Siam, sacked Ayuthia, -the old capital, and carried away many captives. Prya-Tahksin, a -Siamo-Chinese, rallied the Siamese forces, defeated the Burmese and -drove them out of the country. He took the throne, fortified the town -of Bangkok and made it the capital. He reigned fifteen years, and was -then defeated by Somdet Pra Baroma Rahchah Pra Pretta Yaut Fah, who -was the first king of the present dynasty, Prabat Somdet Pra -Paramendr-Maha-Chula-Long-Korn-Klow, the present sovereign, being the -fifth. - -Chinese of wealth often become favorites with the rulers and receive -titles of nobility, and these noblemen in return present their -daughters to their majesties. Thus we find Chinese blood flowing in -the veins of the royal family of Siam. - -[Illustration: HOME OF RICH CHINAMAN.] - -Although a Chinaman may have left a wife in his native land, that does -not prevent his taking as many others as he can support. The first -Siamese wife is supreme, and rules the many-sided household without -opposition. Intermarriage with the different tribes found in Siam does -not change to any extent their native characteristics. The children -inherit the same peculiar traits of character. They have the same -almond-shaped eyes and copper complexion, cultivate their hair in -queue style, and wear the same fashion of dress which their Chinese -ancestors wore centuries ago. - -The Chinese element in Siam is a powerful one. No other race can -compete with it, not even excepting the Caucasian. We find the Chinese -in every department of business. They are extensive ship-owners. In -the days when Siam had a sailing fleet of merchantmen the owners were -principally Chinese, as were also the shippers and crews. Even when -commanded by a European captain, the supercargo on board was a -Chinaman and had chief control. - -Since steamships have been introduced we find that the owners and -agents of some of these are Chinamen. The saw-mills and rice-mills -worked by muscle-power are all owned by Chinese, and since the -introduction of steam-mills they are not slow to adopt these modern -improvements, so that now several steam saw-mills and rice-mills are -owned by enterprising Chinamen. When business was dull and Europeans -stopped their mills, the Chinese kept theirs running. One reason for -this is that the Chinese can live more cheaply than Europeans, and are -satisfied with smaller profits. - -They are our gardeners, shopkeepers, carpenters, bricklayers, tailors, -sailors, shoemakers, blacksmiths, fishermen and washermen. All the -mills employ Chinese coolies; all cargo-boats for loading and -unloading ships are manned by these coolies. Europeans prefer the -Chinese for servants: they are cleanly and quick to learn, frugal in -their habits, utilizing everything. In the possession of all these -traits they stand alone amidst surrounding tribes. - -But the curse of opium-smoking and _shamshu_-drinking has followed -them to this sunny land, and makes shipwreck of many thousands of -lives annually. When they once become addicted to the use of opium -they neglect their business and families and spend every cent they can -find or steal for the poisonous drug, and finally, in a crazed state, -their bodies mere skeletons, they lie down and die or put an end to -their own lives. - -Change of climate, scene and associations has no appreciable effect on -the disposition of a Chinaman. He still retains his acquisitive, -irascible and turbulent temperament. The Chinese herd together in -little rooms, perhaps a score of them eating, working and sleeping in -one little room in which a white man would die of suffocation. They -are very clannish too, the natives of each province holding together -and working to promote the interests of their own particular clan. -They have frequent quarrels with the natives of other provinces. - -Some time ago there was quite a serious quarrel between certain clans. -The trouble is said to have originated with the Ang Yees, a secret -society. They resorted to knives and firearms, and a number were -killed. The government took the matter up and decapitated several of -them, which put a quietus upon the others for the time. - -The Chinese are very daring. There are organized bands of robbers, who -go up and down the river robbing boats and breaking into native -houses, and committing murder in some cases where resistance is -offered. One house in the very shadow of the palace was entered and a -large sum of money taken. The ringleaders were caught and beheaded, -and the people are now feeling more secure in life and property. - -The Chinese are inveterate gamblers. Much of the hard-earned wages of -the laboring classes is lost in the gambling dens. The gambling -establishments are all in the hands of the Chinese. Gambling, like -many other things in Siam, is a monopoly, and the government sells to -the highest bidder the privilege of licensing and controlling all such -establishments in the country. He has the right to arrest and punish -all those who infringe upon his privileges. Men, women and little -children all frequent the gambling-places. Cards and dice are both -used. The lottery monopoly is also in the hands of the Chinese. - -Every Chinaman must pay a triennial poll-tax of two dollars and -seventy-five cents. As a proof that this tax has been paid they must -wear a cord around the wrist fastened with the gum of a certain tree -and stamped with the government seal. A great many try to evade this -law by keeping in retirement until the time for taxation is passed. -The Siamese captives are liable at any time to be called upon to do -government work, and to escape it they sometimes wear the queue. A lad -on our premises who had worn the queue for years decided to have it -cut off, and when asked why he did so replied, “I hear the Siamese are -requiring every one wearing the queue to give in the Chinese language -the different parts of a pig; as I could not do that, I had my queue -cut off.” If the story is true, it was a happy thought of the Siamese. -The Chinese are the pork-raisers of Siam, and could easily meet the -test. - -[Illustration: CHINESE BOAT-PEOPLE.] - -Most of the villages on the gulf coast are inhabited by Chinese -fishermen. Those living near the mouth of the Menam Chowphya bring the -products of the sea to the Bangkok market at all seasons of the year, -whilst those on the opposite side must consult the winds and tides. -Everything, from a sea-slug to a porpoise, is caught and sold in the -market. As their fish-boats have to travel at least thirty miles, it -is necessary to make an early start, and in order to arrive here for -the morning market they most probably toil all night. - -[Illustration: CHINESE CEMETERY.] - -Most of the Chinese who die here are buried, but some are cremated. -The disposition of the body rests altogether with the wife and -children of the deceased. Very many, however, return to their native -land, after amassing a good pile of Mexican dollars, to lay their -bones in the ancestral burying-ground, where their spirits may be -worshiped in turn by their descendants. - -Although the different provinces in China have their own peculiar -superstitions and customs, yet when they come here they assimilate to -a certain degree. Every three or four years some person turns up who -claims that the spirit of their god has entered into him, and he is -put through the crucial test of sitting on iron spikes and sharp -swords, having needles thrust into his cheeks and his tongue cut. That -one who can obtain an inscription written with the blood from the -tongue is considered highly favored. If he can endure all this torture -unflinchingly, his claim is considered genuine. They then prepare for -a grand procession by land or water. If on the river, the god is -seated on a throne in a gayly-decorated boat, accompanied by a long -line of boats with flags, banners and streamers flying and gongs -beating. The Chinese love dearly to “strike the loud cymbal.” These -occasions are to Young China what the Fourth of July is to Young -America, a time of fire-crackers and deafening noises. The more -grotesquely the occupants of the boats are dressed the more imposing -the ceremony. - -The wealthy classes build very pleasant, comfortable brick houses. The -walls of the verandas are decorated with flowering plants and -shrubbery placed in fancy Chinese flower-pots. The indispensable -Chinese lantern is suspended from the roof of the veranda. In the -interior of the house you will find the shrine of the household god, -and over it is placed a number of fancy-colored and gilt papers -containing inscriptions, perhaps the daily petitions or prayers of the -household. - -The Chinese are a religious people, every house having its altar. But -“their rock is not as our Rock, themselves being judges.” At sundown -they will burn gilt paper and incense-sticks to Joss, and turn in the -midst of their devotions and curse a European, calling him a “white -devil.” We have been accustomed from childhood to think of the “father -of lies” as a very black spirit, and it seems very strange to us to -have these dusky faces call him _white_. - -The furniture of some of these houses is very handsome. The same -black, straight-backed settees and chairs seen everywhere in China are -here, some of them handsomely inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl and -fine porcelain. - -[Illustration: PAPER PRAYERS.] - -The Chinese are a polite people too. If you visit them in their homes, -and they have been accustomed to mingle with Europeans, they will -offer you their hand or will chin-chin, bowing very low and shaking -their own hands. You are invited to sit down, and a cup of excellent -tea in its purity is offered in the daintiest of cups. One is tempted -to covet some of those beautiful table-covers, screens or fans, all so -richly embroidered in bright-colored silks. Some of the fans are white -silk, with birds and flowers painted on them. - - “But small the bliss that sense alone bestows, - And sensual bliss is all the nation knows; - In florid beauty groves and fields appear: - Man seems the only growth that dwindles here.” - -[Illustration: PARLOR OF CHINESE HOUSE.] - -In the cool of the evening the working classes gather in groups round -the doors of their houses, talking, laughing and smoking. One of the -number is perhaps entertaining the others with music on a little -instrument resembling a violin. But there is no music in it. If the -reader would like to reproduce the sound, let him try drawing the bow -over the violin-strings back and forth in a seesaw manner for an hour -or two at a time, and he will have a faint idea of the distracting -sounds drawn from the tortured instrument. There is not the slightest -approach to melody. - -The scantily-clad coolie is not æsthetic, but as a nation the Chinese -are very much so. If they have the means they surround themselves with -beautiful things, such as silk, embroideries, paintings, carving in -ivory, lacquer-ware, mosaics, birds and flowers. Their ladies paint -their faces to look beautiful. But these stay in their native land; a -Chinese woman is rarely seen in Siam. - -See that group of Chinamen who have been invited to a party given by -the foreign minister on the king’s birthday. They walk up and down -through the drawing-room and halls, so that we have a fine opportunity -for seeing them in full dress. Thin loose trousers of blue silk, -almost concealed by a robe of elegant silk richly embroidered, a cape -of the same covering the shoulders; Chinese slippers embroidered and -turned up at the toes; a hat (which they wear all the evening) -resembling a butter-bowl; and, to complete the grand toilette, they -flourish exquisite fans in silk and ivory. They make frequent visits -to the refreshment-room, and seem to enjoy the good things provided. - -Many of those coming here from China cannot swim a stroke, and yet -they will venture out on the river in a little boat, perhaps a leaky -_sampan_, which they do not know how to manage, or they will crowd -into a larger boat until it is weighed down to the water’s edge, -scarcely leaving room to use the paddles. In this condition they will -attempt to cross the river when it is very rough and dangerous. -Perhaps they will reach the opposite shore safely, or, becoming -excited, they lose all presence of mind, and, screaming and shouting -at one another, completely demoralized, they are carried by the -swiftly-flowing current upon the anchor-chain of some vessel lying in -the river; the boat is upset and they are left struggling in deep -water. Some of them may succeed in getting hold of the chain or rope -and cling to it until rescued, whilst others are carried under the -ship by the strong current, and are never again seen alive. Like most -heathen, they are fatalists, and it would seem sometimes as if they -sought death, from their persistently reckless manner when danger -threatens them. They will run their little boats across the bow of -large boats, even steamers, and, as they are probably moving with the -current, a collision is almost inevitable. It is no unusual thing to -see the bodies of Chinamen floating up and down at the mercy of the -ebbing and flowing tides, until finally they reach the sea and -disappear for ever. - -There is a superstition that if you rescue any one from drowning the -water-spirits will resent the interference and claim at some future -time the rescuer as a substitute; hence the stolidity and indifference -in Siam about rescuing the drowning. New missionaries are always -startled to see a boatload of people upset in the river, and shocked -that none of the people in the other boats attempt to offer any -assistance. - -As gardeners the Chinese are very successful, and when we consider the -few rude implements they have to work with it is wonderful that they -succeed so well. Their spade is not much larger than a man’s hand, -with a short straight handle――no head to hold by nor rest for the -foot; consequently, all the force used in digging must come from the -shoulders and arms. The sickle is similar to that used in many parts -of Europe at the present day; the plough, drawn by oxen, does not -differ perhaps in any respect from the one the prophet Elisha left to -follow Elijah. - -The Chinese do not cultivate the paddy-fields to any great extent, but -buy the rice from the producers and bring it to the Bangkok market. -The _seri_-leaf, which is used so extensively in Siam, is cultivated -in the betel-gardens. It is a vine trained on poles, and the leaf, -which is a bright green, tender and juicy, resembles the leaf of the -morning-glory vine, and is cultivated with great care. Decayed fish is -used as a fertilizer, and consequently the breezes which blow over -these gardens are not “spicy breezes,” but, on the contrary, very -offensive, obliging one in passing to suspend respiration for a time. -The leaves are picked when young and tied up in bundles, and carried -round for sale in little boats. This leaf, covered with a pink lime -paste and a little tobacco and betel-nut added, is rolled up -cross-wise and chewed. The consequence is, their teeth are black as -coal and the mouth is always full of red saliva, which runs out of the -mouth over the chin, and is almost as disgusting as the practice of -tobacco-chewing amongst Americans. - -The Presbyterians have done no special work amongst the Chinese proper -in Siam. There are a number of elderly Chinamen in the mission -churches, but many of the male members are Siamo-Chinese. In the -mission boarding-school for boys more than half the number are sons of -Chinamen, and they are the brightest and most encouraging pupils. Many -of the missionaries hold the opinion that China proper is the -legitimate field in which to teach Christianity to the Chinese. It is -very difficult to get educated Chinese teachers in Siam. - -The Rev. Wm. Dean, D.D., was the first missionary to the Chinese in -Siam. He was sent out by the Baptist Association, and arrived in -Bangkok July 18, 1835. This venerable father, now in his -seventy-seventh year, is still doing active service for the Master in -this part of his vineyard. He stood alone for many years, but recently -he has been reinforced by the arrival of the Rev. L. A. Eaton. - -The Chinese all learn enough of the Siamese language to make -themselves understood, and they can get a saving knowledge of the -truth through the medium of the Siamese language if their hearts are -so inclined. Already both Siamese and Chinese in Siam are accepting -the gospel, so that we see the dawn of that glorious time promised -when “the heathen” will “be given as an inheritance, and the uttermost -parts of the earth for a possession” to Christ. - - - - -PART II. - -VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LIFE. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -_A SIAMESE WEDDING._ - - -In a Siamese home, which stood in the midst of most beautiful -fruit-gardens, where the rosy-cheeked pomegranate nodded and played -hide-and-seek among its leaves with the purple mangosteen, and the -fragrant blossoms of the luscious mango pelted and showered themselves -down upon the thorny durian, and the tall cocoanut frowned loftily on -the graceful waving leaves of the banana,――in such a lovely spot, -amidst singing birds and fragrant flowers and most glorious sunshine, -about twenty years ago a little baby girl was born. - -When the dear little stranger first opened her eyes she saw only gloom -and smoke. A Siamese infant is not carefully bathed by gentle hands, -and dressed in softest, purest linen, and laid in the clean white bed -beside the mother, who gathers it close in her arms and thanks God for -such a treasure. No; this new-born babe was first well rubbed with a -red and yellow powder, and strings with a silver coin attached were -tied around her wrists and ankles; then, being wrapped in some pieces -of their dirty, worn-out waist-cloths, she was put on a cotton pillow -under a round framework, something the shape of a bird-cage, covered -with dark muslin. Baby and cage were then set away in a corner of the -hot, close room, where the mother, as Siamese custom requires, was -lying on a bare board before four or five smoking firebrands, and, as -the house had no chimney, of course the room was filled with smoke. -The little brown baby was looked at occasionally, and brought to the -mother to be nursed, and she was bathed once or twice a day by having -tepid water poured over her with the hands, and whilst the skin was -still wet rubbed over with the turmeric powder and softened chalk. She -was also fed with the fingers, the food being boiled rice mixed with -mashed bananas. - -What would you think to see a baby not a week old put into a -smoke-house and fed on rice and scraped apple? Well, as might be -expected, many of these little brown babies die. Nevertheless, this -little one lived through all, and as the days and months and years -went by grew up into a pretty little girl, and, being the youngest of -the children, was petted by all the family like many a winsome darling -in our own Christian land. - -I do not know much about the earliest years of Leang, save that she -lived most of the day out of doors among the flowers and fruit trees; -and I think she must have had the birds for her companions, for her -merry laugh always reminded one of their carols. When I first met -Leang she was a bright child of six or seven summers, for the year in -Siam is one long bright summer. She had soft black eyes, and hair that -was black also, but all shaven off except one little place on the top -of her head, where it had been allowed to grow long, and was worn -twisted into a tight, smooth knot fastened by a long gold pin, the -head of which was as large as the end of your thumb and set full of -precious stones. - -She was very friendly, and often visited at the house of one of our -missionaries who lived near her bamboo hut, and when Mrs. House -started a school for children on her veranda Leang was invited to join -them. Here she learned to sing, read, write and sew. In later years -she joined the church, and was often in our family and much loved for -her winning ways. - -When Leang was about seventeen years old her parents thought it time -for the maiden to be married. In Siam when a man wants a wife he gets -two or three elderly persons who are friends of the maiden’s parents -to intercede for him and offer a certain sum of money for her, and -often, whether she is willing or not, the daughter is married to the -one who will pay the highest price. - -Leang’s parents received an offer from a wealthy Chinaman who had -already two or more wives, but, attracted by her pretty face, wanted -this young girl――not because he loved her, but to add a new ornament -to his harem. He was a heathen, much older than herself, and the -girl’s heart had long been in the keeping of a young Siamese Christian -who had met her in the mission-house, where he also visited. Her -parents scolded, took away her ornaments, beat her and threatened -banishment from home, but Leang refused to marry the Chinaman. At -length, after a long period of trial and waiting, which perhaps only -strengthened their love, the young Siamese won the reluctant consent -of her parents to marry their daughter. - -And now perhaps you think it is time to prepare for the wedding. No, -not yet. The Siamese have a superstition that persons born in certain -years are incompatible with each other. For instance, if one were born -in the “year of the Dog” and another in the “year of the Rat,” or one -in the “year of the Cow” and the other in the “year of the Tiger,” -they would not live happily together. The matter is accordingly -referred to some fortune-teller, who for a small fee generally -pronounces no difficulty is in the way. The matter of birthdays being -settled favorably, the elders make another call for a further -discussion of the preliminaries. They say, “Since birthdays do not -interfere, what shall be said about the usual stock for the young -couple to commence life upon, and the money for the building of a -house?” for, according to Siamese custom, the bridegroom puts up the -house on the premises of the bride’s parents, and as near the old home -as possible, so that it is almost one family. When a Siamese has -several daughters married and gathered thus around the old homestead, -there is quite a little family settlement. In reply to this inquiry of -the elders the girl’s parents will probably answer, “We are not rich -and not able to give our daughter much of a dowry. How is it with the -parents of the young man? What will they do for their son?” The elders -reply, “It depends upon yourselves.” The parents then suggest that a -certain sum be appropriated for the building of the house, and name -another sum for mutual trade; and it is agreed that they contribute -areca-nut, red lime, seri-leaf, cakes and so forth for the -wedding-feast. The plan of the new house and the number of the rooms -are also specified. - -The elders then return and report to the parents of the young man, and -if they are satisfied a bargain is made and accepted by both parties. - -All these matters being favorably settled in the case of our young -people, Leang’s parents hastened to consult the astrologers in -reference to a propitious day for the wedding, and the young man -engaged workmen to build the house, which did not take long nor cost -much. - -During all these months the lovers seldom met. For the Siamese young -men and maidens there are no moonlight drives and walks, no pleasant -tête-à-têtes, no exchange of love’s sweetest tokens, during courtship. -They are carefully watched, and kept apart as much as possible. But by -some of the thousand ways in which love ever makes itself known they -knew that each was true to the other, and waited patiently. Meanwhile -the bamboo house grew in the hands of the workmen day by day, until -the sound of the saw and hammer was no longer heard, and the home was -pronounced finished and ready to be set in order for the young couple. - -The wedding-day hastened on; the guests were all invited, and the -birds twittering among the trees seemed to sympathize with the maiden -who had lived among them from her earliest childhood, and to carol -joyously, “Come, haste to the wedding.” - -The little house was festooned with the broad, graceful leaves of the -banana and adorned with the tall green stalks of the sugar-cane, -symbolical of peace and fruitfulness. Flowers and fruits were arranged -in fantastic designs on the walls, bright-colored cloth was gracefully -draped as curtains and screens; all things were ready and attractive -in the new home. - -The ceremonies of a Siamese wedding consist largely of feasting. This -feast of fruits and cakes and sweetmeats is spread on mats upon the -grass among the trees and flowers, and the hosts await the arrival of -the guests. - -By and by the sound of tabret and pipe and bands of music heralds the -coming of a sort of procession. As the Siamese always walk in single -file, one by one they came――the musicians with their oddly-shaped -instruments, old men and women, young men, maidens and children――all -gayly dressed in holiday attire, some bearing trays containing gifts -for the bride and her parents, and others with offerings of fruit, -cakes and confections to contribute to the already generously prepared -wedding-feast in the fruit-garden. - -Out among her youthful friends, serving at the feast and bearing trays -here and there among the guests――who are seated in groups on the -grass, like the multitude fed by our Lord in Judea so long ago――flits -the pretty bride. Although her face is brown, the rosy blush is -plainly seen on her cheeks as she finds the eyes of her lover seeking -constantly her own. - -The bridegroom sits apart from the women, among his young men -attendants, and has not been near enough to extend a tender pressure -of the hand, nor would he dare to offend the Siamese ideas of -propriety, for, although she is so nearly his own, a slight breach of -etiquette on his part might blast his hopes. - -Conversation flows on, the sound of merry voices telling of happiness -and good-will. All have been served, and the feast is over. The money -has been brought forward and counted by reliable persons and found -correct. Both sums are then thrown together and sprinkled with rice, -scented oil and flowers, symbolic of blessings craved for the young -couple. It is then handed over to the parents of the bride for -safe-keeping. - -The wedding-gifts have been formally presented and duly admired. -Siamese wedding-gifts are few and simple. Many of the utensils in use -among them are quite primitive in style――unglazed earthen pots for -cooking purposes; brazen vessels, trays, cups and spoons or small -ladles; heavy wooden buckets and baskets daubed within and without -with pitch, used for carrying water; common porcelain bowls for -holding their rice and vegetables at meals,――no knives, no forks, no -spoons, such as young housekeepers need with us. As they have little -that is ornamental in an ordinary home, the wedding-gifts are always -useful articles. - -[Illustration: MISSION HOUSE.] - -The afternoon is now far spent and the hum of many voices is somewhat -subdued. The band strikes up a sort of wedding-march. The groom, -attired in plum-colored silk p’anoong and a neatly-fitting white -muslin jacket, rises, and, leaving the group, attended by his young -friends, dressed in the same style, bare-legged and bare-headed, walks -toward the neighboring house of the American missionary. At a -respectful distance follow some of the matrons, aged women and -maidens. Amid them, like a gay butterfly, dressed in a red and yellow -silk waist-cloth, a brilliant green silk, tight-fitting jacket and a -fire-colored silk scarf thrown gracefully over her shoulders, walks -the young bride――no shoes or stockings, no hat nor veil to hide her -pretty blushes. The guests all go up through the veranda into the -house, where they are welcomed by the missionary. Chairs are offered, -but many prefer to crouch on the floor, as they have never been -elevated above it in all their lives. The Christian marriage that -follows is a novel episode to many present. At a Siamese wedding the -Buddhist priests come to the house and chant prayers for the benefit -of the young couple. The parents of the bride and bridegroom and all -the guests vie with each other in their attention to these priests, -who receive gifts also. The young couple are copiously bathed with -holy water, poured by the elders first on the head of the bridegroom, -then on the head of the bride, pronouncing a blessing upon each. This -of course necessitates a change of wet apparel for dry, usually more -gay than the former, the fresh suit for the bridegroom being -frequently presented him on a salver by a lad sent from the parents of -the bride. - -But to return to our young couple. After repeating with clasped hands -their vows to love, cherish, honor and live with one another until -death, the missionary pronounces the blessing and congratulations are -offered by their friends. The parties then separate, and in like -manner as they came to the house so they go back to their guests in -the garden. - -The feasting continues if this is a propitious day, closing in the -evening. Oftentimes, however, the ceremonies are kept up until the -third and fourth day. Soft eyes look love to eyes which dare not speak -again, for the Siamese dames and grandames are lynx-eyed and the -maidens are shy; yet Cupid will not be outwitted, and his darts fly -thick and fast at such a feast. Still, the bridegroom must content -himself with an occasional glance as Leang flits in and out among her -guests. When the twilight has waned and the full clear moon transforms -everything into silvery beauty, preparations are made for the -torchlight procession to conduct the bridegroom and bride to the new -home. You remember the parable of the Ten Virgins in the New -Testament: “At midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom -cometh!” After somewhat the same manner is this procession formed. The -torches used are made of pitch rolled into small sticks about two feet -long and wrapped round with the dried attap-leaf. - -The groom’s attendants escort him with lighted torches to his new -home, and at the same time a lad is despatched by the bride bearing a -tray of the areca-nut, with all its concomitants, ready for chewing, -tobacco, seri-leaf, red lime and soft wax for the lips. The happy man -meets them at the door, and, placing the tray before them, invites -them to partake. - -After an interval two or three matrons, with Leang’s maiden -attendants, light their torches, and the little bride, shy and -trembling, but with her heart full of her happiness, is in her turn -escorted to the little home, where the youthful husband, engaged in -merry conversation with his friends, is impatiently awaiting her -arrival. - -All sit down in the veranda, the maidens apart from the men. The tray -with the betel-nut is passed to them, and they all partake freely. -Then, after more friendly chatting and some suitable exhortations from -the matrons and the congratulations from all, the guests depart. Our -youthful friends are left to themselves, and another Christian home -adds its rays to the light which we hope will ere long cover Siam. - -Many Siamese men have several wives at a time, but they do not marry -all in the same way. They pay a sum of money for each, but often all -ceremony is laid aside after the first marriage, save paying the -money. They build a little house for each, or assign her a small suite -of rooms in the mansion, if men of wealth and position. Polygamy is -not so common among the lower as among the higher classes, because of -inability to support more than one wife at a time; but a wife can be -put away or left at will. Notwithstanding these evils, I have known -many homes among the Siamese where the “heart of the husband safely -trusted in the wife,” and she, with loving confidence in him, “looked -well to the ways of her household.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -_HOUSEKEEPING IN SIAM._ - - -All ordinary Siamese houses must have three rooms. Indeed, so -important is this considered that the suitor must often promise to -furnish the requisite number before the parents will consent to let -him claim his bride. - -There is the bedroom, where the family all huddle together at night; -an outer room, where they sit through the day and where they receive -visitors; and the kitchen. - -I will begin at the latter and try to describe the dirty, dingy place. -The Siamese have no godliness, and the next thing to it, cleanliness, -is entirely lacking. So please step carefully or you may soil your -clothes against a black rice-pot or come in contact with drying fish. - -There is usually a rude box filled with earth where they build the -fire and do what they call the cooking; that is, they boil rice and -make curry and roast fish and plantains over the coals. All in the -household are taught to do these simple things, and the father and the -brothers, if they are at home, in poor families, where the women work -for the living, are just as apt to get them ready as the women. - -There is no making of bread or pie or cake or pudding――no roast, no -gravies, no soups. Even vegetables are seldom cooked at home, but are -prepared by others and sold in the markets or peddled about the -streets. There they buy boiled sweet potatoes and green corn, and -stewed fruits and curries, and roasted fish, and nuts and peanuts and -bananas, sliced pineapple, melon and squash; and pickled onions and -turnips are sold through the streets of Bangkok and Petchaburee just -as pickled beets are in Damascus. - -Curry is made of all sorts of things, but is usually a combination of -meat or fish and vegetables. If you want an English name for it that -all can understand you must call it a _stew_. The ingredients are -chopped very fine or pounded in a mortar, especially the red peppers, -onions and spices. The predominant flavor is red pepper, so hot and -fiery that your mouth will smart and burn for half an hour after you -have eaten it. Still, many of the curries are very nice, and with -boiled rice furnish a good meal. But sometimes “broth of abominable -things is in their vessels,” as, for instance, when they make curry of -rats or bats or of the meat of animals that have died of disease; and -they flavor it with _kapick_, a sort of rotten fish of which all -Siamese are inordinately fond. Its chief peculiarity is that it -“smells to heaven” and is unrivaled in the strength of its flavor. - -Siam is unique in that she produces two of the most abominable, and -yet the most delicious, things, if we believe what we hear. These are, -first, the durian, a large fruit found only on this peninsula; and, -second, kapick, which I hope is not found anywhere outside of Siam. - -But to return to the kitchen: it has no chimney, and the smoke finds -its way out as best it can, so that nearly everything is black and -sooty. There is but little furniture except the fireplace, the -rice-pots, a kettle and perhaps a frying-pan, and baskets of various -shapes and sizes, one pair being daubed within and without with pitch -and used to carry water. There is a little stool, a foot square and -six inches high, that they call a table, and on which they place the -curry and fish and sliced vegetables, while those who eat squat like -toads about it, each having on the floor before him a bowl of rice, -which is replenished from a larger dish near by or directly from the -rice-pot in the fireplace. - -There is no regularity about their meals, and they do not wait for one -another, but eat whenever they get hungry. In the higher families the -men always eat first and by themselves, and the wives and children and -dogs take what is left. - -The usual rule is for each one to wash his own rice-bowl and turn it -upside down in a basket in the corner of the room, there to drip and -dry till the next time it is needed. - -They eat with their fingers, very few having even so much as a spoon, -and they do not use the wafer-like bread so common in the Levant, -which the Syrians double into a kind of three-cornered spoon, and, -dipping up some _kibby_, or camel-stew, or rice, eat down spoon and -all. - -The kitchen floors are nearly all made of split bamboo, with great -cracks between, through which they pour all the slops and push the -scraps and bones, so that sweeping is unnecessary. Near the door are -several large earthen jars for water, which are filled from the river -by the women or servants. Here they wash their feet before they enter -the house, and their hands and mouths before and after they eat, -dipping the water with a gourd or cocoanut-shell. They use brass -basins and trays a great deal, but for lack of scouring they are -discolored and green with verdigris; and I cannot help thinking that -the use of such vessels is one of the fruitful sources of the fearful -sores and eruptions with which the whole nation is afflicted. - -[Illustration: SIAMESE LADIES DINING.] - -There are no washing- or ironing-days. Many wear no upper garment, -only a waist-cloth, which they keep on when they go to bathe, and when -they come up out of the water they change it for a dry one. It is then -rubbed a little in the water, wrung out and spread in the sun to dry. -If it is not stolen, they fold it up when it is dry and pat it with -their hands, and that is all the ironing they do. - -The outer room of the house is barren enough, with perhaps a mat or -ox-hide for guests to sit upon, and a tray from which all are served -with betel and tobacco. It is considered a great insult not to offer -betel to your guests, and a greater one still, I believe, to refuse it -when offered. They think the red lips and black teeth it produces are -very beautiful. They have a saying, “Any dog can have white teeth,” -inferring that only human beings know how to blacken theirs. - -The bedroom is where things accumulate――old baskets and bags, rags, -bundles and boxes. You seldom see idols in a Siamese house, but I have -seen them sometimes in the bedroom, especially if any one is sick. -There are no bedsteads, no tables, chairs, bureau, washstand, or -indeed any of those things which we consider necessary. A torn straw -mat or two, or perhaps an ox-hide on the floor, with a brick-shaped -pillow stuffed with cotton or a brick itself or block of wood for a -pillow, constitute the ordinary Siamese bed. - -In families not the very poorest you will find long narrow mattresses -stuffed with tree-cotton. They may be covered with an old ragged -waist-cloth instead of a sheet, and over them is suspended a mosquito -curtain of dark-blue cloth or one of unbleached cotton. I have known -these curtains to hang for years without ever being changed or washed. -The beds and mats are filthy and swarming with bugs, which also infest -the curtains, the coverings, the cracks in the floor and the wall, the -boxes, and indeed all the rubbish in the room. I have seen them -creeping over the people, and no one seems to mind them or think of -being ashamed. - -These rooms are never cleared out or swept or scrubbed. The cobwebs of -succeeding years tangle and entangle themselves in the corners, drape -the rafters and the windows, and indeed every place where the busy -spinners can do their work. There is seldom more than one window in a -bedroom, and at night it is carefully closed, and if it were not for -the cracks in the floor and walls the miserable inmates would surely -smother. They do not bring their cattle _into_ the house, for it is -very frail and set upon poles about six feet from the ground, but they -do keep them _under_ the house, so that they can hear if thieves come -to steal them. - -They never give any dinner- or tea-parties or visit each other, as we -do at home. There is an occasional feast, as at a wedding, a funeral -or a hair-cutting, and sometimes neighbor girls will sit together -under the trees to sew, or by the same lamp at night to economize oil -and to chat and gossip. A great place for the latter pastime is at the -temples when they go to hear the Buddhist services, which are usually -in Bali, and therefore not understood, or by the river-banks and wells -when they go to fetch water. - -Thus you see that housekeeping among the Siamese is very simple and -primitive. There are no women who have worn out their lives in making -and mending, baking and scrubbing, and fussing over a cook-stove. They -do not dread the spring house-cleaning or the fall setting up of -stoves and putting down of carpets. There is no Thanksgiving dinner to -cook, nor Christmas holiday feasting, and no Fourth of July picnic; no -preserving or pickling, no canning of fruits nor packing of butter nor -pressing of cheese. - -But, alas! there is no happy home-life either――no family altar, no -pleasant social board where father, mother, sisters and brothers meet -three times a day, and, thanking God for food, eat with joy and -gladness and grow strong for his service; no sitting-room, where some -of the happiest years of our lives are spent in loving companionship -with those of our own household, no place for books, and no books to -read, except perhaps a few vile tales or books of superstition and -witchery. - -May God pity Siam and plant in her kingdom many happy Christian homes! -May her people be purified and cleansed, and taught of him in all -things! Then, and not till then, will the good influences, working -from the heart outward, touch and cleanse and beautify all their -surroundings. - - NOTE.――The reader will doubtless notice that my description - is of Siamese life among the lower classes, not among those - who have come in contact with missionaries and been improved - somewhat, nor those of the higher classes in Bangkok――the - princes and nobles, whose old-time home-life was neater and - more orderly than that here described. These, through the - influence of foreigners coming to Siam and visits to foreign - lands, have raised themselves in the scale of living, and - have foreign houses filled with foreign furniture and - conveniences, order sumptuous meals from foreign bakeries, - and have them placed upon their tables and served in modern - style. I do not consider that true _Siamese_ housekeeping. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -_CHILD-LIFE IN SIAM._ - - -When the Siamese young folks get up in the morning they do not go to -the washstand to wash their faces, for the simple reason that Siamese -houses can boast no such article of furniture. The cooking utensils -and the mats which serve for beds, with the pillows of gayly-painted -bamboo or of tightly-stuffed cotton, make up the entire furnishing of -a Siamese home. The houses of the poor people are simple bamboo huts -of one or two rooms, while their richer neighbors have teak-wood -houses, with an extra room perhaps; but all are alike simple in their -furniture. - -Our little Siamese friend just runs down to the foot of the -ladder――for the house is built on posts――to a large jar of water with -a cocoanut-shell dipper. There she washes her face――not in the dipper, -but by throwing the water over her hands and rubbing them over her -face. She needs no towel, for the water is left to dry. She does not -brush her teeth, for they are stained black by chewing the betel-nut -and seri-leaf. Her hair does not require combing either, for it is all -shaved except a little tuft on the top of the head, and that is tied -in a little knot and not often combed; and after a girl is twelve -years old it is shaved and kept very short. - -After breakfast is over――and a very simple meal it is in Siam――the -children go off and find some pleasant place in which to play. The -baby goes with them, and is carried by the older sister on her right -hip, and, with her arm to support the child’s back, she walks along as -if she had no load to carry. - -The girls play at keeping house, and make dishes of clay dried in the -sun, and from seeds, grasses and weeds they make all sorts of -imaginary delicacies. Little images of clay washed with lime are their -only dolls; these are sometimes laid in tiny cradles and covered with -a few pieces of cloth. The Siamese cradles are made on oblong wooden -frames, something like a picture-frame, from which hangs a network bag -made of cord, which forms the cradle, and a board is put in the bottom -to keep the netted cord in shape. The large cradle of the same sort in -which the live baby sleeps is fastened by ropes to the rafters of the -house, and forms a cooler and safer cradle than those in which -American babies rest. If any one will make a little frame and net some -cord for the basket part, she can have a real Siamese cradle. - -The boys in Siam are very fond of pitching coins, and spend much of -their time in this game. They play leap-frog, and very often jump the -rope. Now that so many foreigners come to this country they have -learned to play marbles too. Foot-ball is also a very popular game, -but instead of a ball they use a little square piece of thick leather -with feathers fastened into one side. The men, as well as the boys, -enjoy this game, and it is really the most active exercise the Siamese -ever take. Fishing is a favorite pastime; and as crabs and prawns are -not always in season, they are a greater luxury than fish, and it is -considered great fun to catch them. The time for this is when the tide -in the river is very low and great mud-banks are left on either side. -The little fishermen carry with them a coarse sieve and an earthen -jar. The sieve is pushed along under the surface of the mud, and the -crabs, when caught, are put into the jars, which the children drag -along after them. After they have caught enough crabs they pelt each -other with mud, just as American boys do with snowballs. When they are -tired and dirty enough they plunge into the water, have a good swim, -and come out of the water as clean and happy as boys can be. In the -month of March, though usually dry and hot, winds are blowing. At this -time the Siamese, young and old, are much engaged in playing games -with kites, which are fitted with whistles, and the air resounds with -the noise produced by the toys and the shouts of the multitudes of -people engaged in the sport. Very frequently, too, mimic battles are -fought in the air by means of these kites, skillfully directed by -strings held in the hands of the owners. - -Siamese children do not have many pets, and those that they do have -are used for fighting. Just at sunset the boys will often be seen -searching very earnestly for crickets. These little creatures are put -into small clay cages, closed at the top by bars of little sticks -which let in the light and air. Then the boys gather some evening, put -all their crickets into a large box, and watch them fight, as they are -sure to do when put together. Small fish, called needle-fish from -their long sharp mouths, are also used for this cruel purpose. Two -fish are put into separate bottles placed close to each other. The -moment they catch sight of each other they begin snapping, but of -course can never reach each other. Sometimes a looking-glass is held -before one, and it is amusing as well as painful to see how angry it -will become. This passion for mimic fights grows in the boys, and when -they become men they spend most of their time at cockpits, where -nearly all their gambling is done. In spite of all this, animals are -well cared for by most persons, for they “make merit” in this way. -They also believe that at some future time a fish, a monkey, a dog, a -cat, or it may be a snake, a bird or a pig, will be the possible home -of their own soul. - -The Siamese are fond of flowers, and use them for personal adornment. -The children wear wreaths of tiny white flowers on their topknots, and -very often men and women put flowers behind their ears and fasten them -in their hair. Children are often named for flowers and different -colors. The name that almost all babies bear for the first few years -of their life is “_Dang_,” which means red. When they get a little -older they have another name given them, though sometimes this first -name clings to them all their lives. When a stranger meets a young -girl and wishes to speak to her she calls her “_Rat_,” for this is the -most polite way of addressing young ladies whose name one does not -know. - -[Illustration: A YOUNG SIAMESE PRINCE.] - -There are no story-books printed for the children of Siam. Their -stories are told to them, and are so uninteresting that American -children would wonder how any one could listen to them; but they have -never heard better ones, and the sweetest story of all, that of Jesus -and his love, has never been heard by millions there. Some of the -missionaries have translated into Siamese a number of story-books -which are familiar to American children. A number of the familiar -Sabbath-school hymns have also been translated, and are used in the -Sabbath-school and church services. - -The Siamese know nothing of music. Their songs are a monotonous chant. -They have but few musical instruments, and it does not take many to -make a full band. These bands play at weddings, funerals and other -grand affairs, but they do not vary their programme in the least, -playing the same tune on any of these occasions. - -The Siamese children are not taught to keep Sunday, for there is no -Sabbath in that heathen land; and even their occasional holy days are -mere gala-days, when, dressed in their best and gayest garments, they -go to the temples with their mothers to make offerings to the image of -their dead god Buddha. From the temples they are often taken to some -theatrical show to spend the remainder of the day. During the national -holiday season these theatrical performances are going on all the -time, besides Chinese street-shows very much like our Punch and Judy; -and fathers, mothers and children all gamble. - -As the streets in Siam are almost all rivers and canals, the Siamese -boys and girls early learn to row, and paddle their little boats -almost as soon as they learn to swim, which they do when they are only -four or five years old. Their canoes are sometimes so small that it is -a puzzle to know how they can manage them so safely. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE STREET SHOW.] - - -We have seen that in their plays the Siamese and American children -have much in common, but in their home-life it is different. Siamese -parents love their children as truly, if not as wisely, as American -fathers and mothers love theirs. Generally the children are allowed to -do just as they please until the parents become angry; then they are -sometimes very cruelly punished. The hand of a little one is sometimes -bent back until the child writhes in agony. They are whipped very -severely too, although it must be confessed that the children -sometimes scream and cry very loudly before they are hurt. But these -punishments are not often administered for what we would consider -sinful. The parents lie, swear and gamble, so that they cannot well -punish their children for following their example. They often curse -their children for a very little thing, and so the children learn to -curse each other. But there is one thing that the Siamese children -could teach young folks in America――reverence for their parents and -for old age and respect for those in authority over them. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -_FIRST HAIR-CUTTING OF A YOUNG SIAMESE._ - - -The attention of the traveler as he passes in his boat along the -rivers and canals of Siam, in town or country, is often arrested by -the sound of music proceeding from beneath an extemporized awning in -front of some dwelling by the wayside. There a promiscuous crowd have -gathered and are witnessing a theatrical performance, the actors and -actresses with chalked faces or hideous masks and in glittering and -fantastic attire. The centre of attraction, however, is manifestly a -pretty child of a dozen summers or so, richly attired and fairly -overlaid with jewelry――necklaces, gold chains, armlets, bracelets and -anklets. - -A hair-cutting festival is in progress――a _kone-chook_, as it is -called, the ceremonies and the gayeties that attend the first clipping -of the cherished topknot on the child’s head. This is the great -occasion in the life of the child, and indeed second only to that of a -wedding or a funeral in the life of the family. The Siamese in shaving -the heads of their children, as they do from their earliest infancy, -always leave a small circular lock of hair on the top of the head to -be untouched by razor or shears till the child is eleven, thirteen, or -fifteen years old. Were it to be cut at an earlier day or without the -customary ceremonies, the parents would fear their child would become -insane or a prey to a kind of demon they call a _yak_. This lock grows -a foot or so long, and is kept oiled and neatly twisted into a knot. -Through this a gilt or golden large-headed hairpin three inches long -is thrust, and not unfrequently a garland of fragrant white flowers is -worn around it, giving young Siamese children quite a pretty -appearance. - -[Illustration: REMOVAL OF THE TUFT OF A YOUNG SIAMESE.] - -When the right year has arrived and the lucky day for the hair-cutting -has been fixed by the astrologers, the friends of the family are -invited, and a band of play-actors engaged and a company of Buddhist -priests, and for a day or two there is a constant round of -prayer-chanting, play-acting and feasting of priests and friends. The -ceremonies begin with the priests chanting in chorus their prayers, -seated cross-legged on mats on an elevated platform, a thread of white -cotton yarn passing from their hands around the clasped hands of the -kneeling child and back to them again, serving as a sort of electric -conductor to the child of the benefits their prayers evoke. The next -morning, when the auspicious moment arrives, the man of highest rank -among the guests with shears clips off the long-cherished lock, and -the head is close shaved for the first time; and then the child, -dressed in white, is led to an elevated seat under a canopy of white -cloth and consecrated water is poured freely over it, first by the -parents, then by kindred and friends. Its drenched garments are now -replaced by gay attire, and a curious ceremony called _weean teean_ is -next gone through with. Candles are lighted, and while the music is -playing loudly are carried five times round the child, who is seated -on a kind of throne between two circular five-storied flowerstand-like -altars, called _bai-sees_, containing cooked rice, fruit and flowers, -offerings to the spirits of the air. The candles are then blown out in -such a way that the smoke shall be borne toward the child. This is -supposed to stock the boy or girl with spirit and courage for the -duties of life. - -The relatives and friends of the family now are expected to make a -present in money to the child, each according to his ability or -station, the sums varying from one to eighty pieces of silver (60 -cents to $48), so that the newly-shorn youngster will on these -occasions receive enough to give him quite a start in the world or if -a maiden sufficient for a dowry. - -And now a general feasting ensues, the yellow-clad priests being first -served, and for a day or two more the music and theatrical -performances continue. After this the children are reckoned as young -men and young women. The _kone-chook_ is in fact their “coming-out” -festival. - -Those whose poverty will not allow the expense of such an affair take -their child when it arrives at the proper age to a Buddhist temple, -and have a priest shave off the tuft with some simple religious -ceremony. - -If so much is made of this observance in the case of ordinary -children, the celebration of the first hair-cutting of a young prince -or princess, as may well be imagined, is a very grand affair. It is -then styled a _sokan_. Preparations for it commence months beforehand; -the governors of provinces far and near are summoned to be present; -the highest priests in the kingdom are invited; and public -festivities, with free theatres, shadow-plays, rope-dancing, etc., to -amuse the immense crowds of people present, are kept up for many days. - -If the child prince or princess is of the very highest rank, part of -the ceremony takes place on an artificial mountain constructed in the -court of the palace of strong timberwork and boards, covered so -entirely with sheets of pewter gilded that it appears like a beautiful -mountain of gold. The one erected a few years ago for the _sokan_ of -the eldest daughter of the reigning king――she being also a great -grand-daughter of the ex-regent――the princess Sri Wililaxan, was sixty -feet high (higher than a four-story building), and had cliffs here and -grottoes there, and lakes and waterfalls, and trees with artificial -monkeys and birds and serpents, which by concealed machinery were made -to move among them as if alive, and winding paths that led to the top, -where an elegant gilt pavilion gleamed in the sun. - -The ceremonies on this occasion commenced with the chanting of prayers -in the hall of state at the palace by twenty-four head priests of the -chief temples of the city, and the lighting of “the candle of -victory,” a huge wax candle six feet high, which burned day and night -till the moment the hair was cut. The next morning these same priests -were sumptuously feasted at the palace, and dismissed with presents of -priests’ robes, cushions, fans, etc., and another company took their -place. - -In the afternoon was the first of the grand processions to escort the -young princess to the great hall of state where the religious services -were held. In the open square in front of this hall seats were -provided for six or seven hundred of the nobility to witness the -procession, themselves a most brilliant sight in their coats of gold -brocade, many sparkling with diamonds. As soon as the king arrived and -seated himself in the high pavilion prepared for him a troop of -beautiful girls in glittering dresses descended from the golden -mountain――from the gilded temple there――and at the base of the -mountain, in full view of His Majesty, danced the flower-dance to the -sound of native music, waving branches of gold and silver flowers. - -Heralded by music, the imposing procession now came on. First there -were masked men representing Japanese warriors; then Siamese soldiers -in European uniform, with bands of music; then two noblemen, -representing celestial messengers, archangels, dressed in all white -with gold embroidery, and having crowns on their heads terminating in -a long, slender, white spire full eighteen inches high. These led on a -hundred more angels with like high-pointed spires on their heads; then -came Indian musicians and yet more angels, and then companies of men -and boys of all nationalities that were to serve the princess, each in -their national costume――first, a troop of Chinese in blue, then of -Malays with white turbans, then Anamese, Peguans, Laos, Karens. - -And now a pretty sight――more than a hundred children of noblemen -dressed in white, with little gold coronets on their topknots and -loaded with jewelry, all kept in their places by holding on to a rope -drawn tight by strong men before and behind. Trumpeters and drummers -in scarlet came next, and Brahmans in white and gold scattering -flowers and sprinkling holy water. Men now came on carrying the -peculiar standards of royalty: eight had each a sort of many-storied -umbrella of gold cloth, the staff fifteen feet high; others carried -huge golden curiously-carved fans with long handles, others spears, -and one the sword of state. Two pretty damsels, robed and crowned as -queens, with bunches of peacock feathers in their hands, followed, and -then came the little princess herself, in white robes and wearing a -small diadem, seated on a golden throne borne aloft on the shoulders -of pages in purple. By her side walked six of the great nobles of the -kingdom as archangels, with high white steeple-like crowns, and twelve -maids of honor in rich dresses followed, bearing her gold tray of -betel, her spittoon, fan and other articles of use; then there were -more of the storied umbrellas and huge fans and spear-bearers. Next in -the procession walked with lady-like and graceful carriage fifty or -more of the king’s wives in ranks of four, all wearing robes of snowy -silk reaching to their feet, with scarfs of silver hue, and eight or -nine massive gold chains passing over one shoulder and across the -breast, as did the scarfs, the other shoulder and arm being left bare. -After these came various officials of the harem, and last the female -police of the palace. - -Following the women of the palace were representatives of women of all -the nations living in Siam and near it――Chinese, Japanese, Hindoo, -Burmese, Laos, Cochin-Chinese, etc.――each in their national dress, the -last in long blue silk coats with orange trousers. These were -succeeded by the Siamese servants of the princess――hundreds of lively -girls in bright scarfs; after them two white ponies were led by -grooms. Then came the men-servants, many hundreds, in white jackets, -and a regiment of Siamese soldiers formed the rear-guard. - -When the princess reached the pavilion where His Majesty sat, her -bearers stopped, and she made homage to her royal father by raising -her joined hands above her head. He, rising to receive her, lifted her -to his side, and together they passed in to where a relay of priests -were chanting prayers. After an hour or so, the princess, coming out, -was escorted back to the gate of the inner palace, all going in the -same order as that in which they came. These processions were repeated -every afternoon for three days. - -On the fourth and great day the ceremonies commenced in the morning -soon after daybreak, for so the Brahman astrologers had directed. The -princess, borne in procession as usual, was taken to the great hall of -the palace, and there, precisely at the lucky moment, the lock of hair -about which all this ado was made was solemnly cut with scissors by -the highest of the princes. Her head was then close shaved with gold, -silver and steel razors. The candle of victory was now extinguished. -Still clad in white, our little princess was next carried in -procession to the foot of the golden mountain and seated on a marble -bench in a pool representing the holy lake Anodad. Here the king took -five jars――of gold, silver, brass, bronze and stone――and poured holy -water over her. She shivered, and almost cried. But the great princes -and princesses, and after them the chief of nobles, came up, and each -in turn poured water over the poor child with trying deliberation for -nearly half an hour. At last she was permitted to retire to a -curtained pavilion near and exchange her drenched robes of white for -the rich apparel of royalty. The prime minister and the minister of -foreign affairs, gorgeously clad as angels, escorted her now up the -golden mountain. At the summit an aged uncle of the king and her royal -father himself received her. In the pretty temple there she was -invested with a crown of solid gold, and then descended in full royal -state covered with jewels, and was carried in procession thrice round -the mountain, her right hand toward it. - -But, lo! a marvelous transformation in the appearance of the -procession had now taken place. The angels that had been clad in white -now assumed pink or rose tints; the ladies of the palace had -golden-colored scarfs instead of silver, and the pretty children that -came in white were now seen clothed in pink, with bright red bands -around their topknots and coronets, all indicative of the joyous -change the clipping of that lock of hair had brought to the royal -child. - -The morning’s ceremony lasted in all about three hours, and then the -princess was borne away to needful rest for a season. - -In the afternoon another ceremony was performed――the “weean teean,” or -encircling with candles, of which mention has been made before. Borne -to the hall of state in procession, the princess, in rich costume, was -seated on a central throne, between two _bai-sees_, which in this case -were five-storied piles of round golden trays successively diminishing -in size toward the top, looking like circular flower-stands, each -containing cooked rice-cakes, scented oil and flour, young cocoanuts -and bananas――all surmounted by a bouquet of flowers. Near her sat her -royal father. All around the hall were the princes and nobles and -ladies of rank seated in a circle. Two chiefs of the Brahmans standing -near the _bai-sees_ lighted in succession fifteen large wax candles -set in gold, silver and crystal candlesticks, and handed them one by -one to the highest in rank present, who with a wave of his hand guided -the flame toward the princess and passed the candle on to the next, -who did the same. At the same time others of the Brahmans were beating -their peculiar drums with a wild burst of music, and hymns were -chanted while each of the fifteen candles made the circuit of the hall -five times, and then were handed back to the Brahman, who suddenly -extinguished them, blowing the smoke toward the princess, thus wafting -to her, as it were, the invigorating influence of beneficent spirits, -of which they say the air is full. With the same object the Brahman -gave the child some of the rice with the milk of the young cocoanut, -and, dipping his finger in the sacred oil and scented flour, anointed -the right foot in three places. The king then poured holy water over -his daughter’s hands, which she passed over her head, and the -ceremonies for the day were over. For three days this weean-teean rite -was performed, and the processions escorting the princess back and -forth went on, and then the sokan festival was ended. - -During these last three days congratulatory presents in silver coin -were most liberally made to the little princess by all of any rank in -the kingdom. The amount received on this occasion was not less, it is -said, than fifty thousand dollars――enough certainly to keep a Siamese -princess in pin-money for life. - -One cannot help remarking, How costly all these vain heathen -superstitions! And all this pomp and parade and immense expense and -these wearisome ceremonies, cheerfully undertaken to avert from the -king’s daughter imaginary evils, from which, if they existed, God only -could protect, and to induce prosperity which God only could give! Sad -indeed it is to reflect how completely, in this and in all the customs -of this people, all reference to or thought of the Lord and Maker of -us all, on whom all creatures are dependent for every blessing, and -whose favor is life and true happiness, has been shut out. - -Let us, “whose souls are lighted by wisdom from on high,” pray -earnestly for these boys and girls in Siam, who now trust in these -foolish rites and offerings to spirits that do not exist, that as they -enter upon manhood and womanhood the blessing of the almighty One may -rest upon them, so that they, more favored than those before them, may -learn and believe and rejoice in the truth as it is in Christ the -Lord. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -_THE SCHOOLS OF SIAM._ - - -In Siam schools are made up of boys and girls, just as they are in -other countries. But the boys and girls of Siam are not made of “sugar -and spice and all that’s nice,” but of fish and fowl, of curry and -rice, of onions and garlic, and everything nice. And they seem to be -very good materials to make children of, too, for they are usually -very bright and clever. - -They commit to memory more readily than the average American -school-boy, but in studies requiring a process of reasoning or -long-continued hard work they would probably fall behind. They usually -begin a new study or work with great avidity, but often tire before it -is half finished. The average Siamese boy of nine or ten years of age -does not ask more than a day to learn all the large and small letters -of the English alphabet, and a tiptop student will only want half a -day. In a year afterward he will be able to read fluently in _Wilson’s -Third Reader_, and translate it all into his own language, and will -also be able to write nicely and know something of arithmetic. - -A teacher of a Siamese school need have little trouble with its -government if it were not so impossible ever to be sure of the truth. -When a boy gets into mischief he always plans to lie about it; and he -can do it with such an air of candor that he will make the teacher -almost disbelieve his own senses. But this fault is doubtless largely -owing to the early training in heathen homes and in the old-fashioned -“wat-schools” of the country. - -The prevailing religion and the education of a country usually stand -side by side, and aid each other. Their united influence is sometimes -to spread sunshine and prosperity over the land, and sometimes to -fasten the chains of superstition and blight the moral feelings of the -entire nation. - -Siam is no exception to the general rule. For centuries the Buddhist -temples have been the only “temples of learning,” and the men who -shave their heads, dress in yellow robes and beg their food have -performed the double office of pedagogue and priest. It would seem as -if Siam ought to be a highly-educated country when these mendicant -teachers form one-thirtieth part of the entire population, and when -the custom of the country is such that parents usually require their -sons to spend all the years of boyhood and youth under the care of -these teachers in the temples. So universal is this custom that work -for boys is something that has not yet been invented in this country. - -As soon as a little boy is out of his babyhood his parents at once -begin to look around for a desirable teacher for him. A priest is -selected: usually he is a friend or relative of the parents, and one -whom they think they can trust to care for and educate their boy. The -child is then taken to the temple, or _wat_, as it is called, and -given to the priest. In doing this the parent gives up all claim, -authority and oversight of the boy to the priest, often closing a long -speech on the subject by begging the priest to “whip him a great deal; -do not break his back or put out his eyes; anything less than that you -can do: I won’t say a word.” - -While the child is in the wat the parent is expected to clothe him and -also to contribute liberally to the _lunch-basket_ that this man of -holy orders carries around daily to have filled by pious Buddhists. -The child’s most important duty now is to wait on his teacher, follow -him on his morning tramps, paddle his boat, serve his food and be -ready at all times to obey his wishes. - -The priest, on his part, is expected to teach the boy to read and -write; and if he is a very extraordinary “man of letters” he may -possibly teach the first principles of arithmetic; this, however, is a -rare accomplishment, gained only by the favored few. - -But whatever else these Buddhist schoolmasters fail in teaching, there -is one lesson that they succeed in imparting better than most college -professors of other countries, and that is a feeling of respect on the -part of their pupils for their teachers, no matter how indifferently -the work may have been done. No matter if ten years have been spent in -doing what should have been done in as many months, still, any Siamese -man would be branded as a wretched ingrate if he did not through all -his life honor and respect the man who taught him to read. This is at -least one good thing to be found in the old-fashioned wat education; -but just how it is gained, and where the secret of success lies, are -somewhat of a mystery. - -Doubtless, it is partly owing to the religious element. The -yellow-robes themselves are objects of veneration, and Buddha, as it -is claimed, was only a teacher, so that the office of teaching, as -well as the dress of the teacher, is calculated to inspire fear and -respect. And perhaps the _birch_ or ratan discipline, which is often -terribly severe, may have something to do with it. A mistake in -writing or spelling usually brings down the teacher’s lash, and this -is called _son hi chum_ (teaching to remember); for a more heinous -offence of disobedience or want of respect toward his teacher the -pupil’s hands are tied around a post, and then he is whipped――not four -or five strokes, but it is one, two or three _dozen_, as the case -seems to require. A teacher is supposed to take an interest in his -pupil, and the pupil to be improving, just in proportion to the amount -of corporal punishment administered. - -One day a man brought his boy to put him into the “King’s School.” -After the arrangements were all made and he was about to say -“Good-bye” to his boy, he turned to the principal of the school and -said, “Please whip him a great deal; I want him to learn fast. If at -any time you think he deserves one dozen, please give him two dozen, -and if you think he deserves two dozen, please give him four dozen. -Don’t let him be a dunce.” And with this loving injunction he took his -leave. Another little boy has dropped out of the same school entirely, -the probable reason being that his grandmother’s repeated request to -_te hi mak mak_ (whip him a great deal) was entirely disregarded. -These wat-schools――if schools they may be called――are free from all -the trammels of school laws and school committees, each teacher being -left free to follow his own will in everything. Neither are there any -school-houses or school-furniture. The teacher seats himself, -tailor-fashion, on the floor of his own filthy, cheerless room, and -his pupils sit in the same way around him. - -There is only one school-book (which is a kind of combined primer and -reader), and after that is mastered the learner must practice reading -on whatever he can find; it may be a fabulous tale, a drama or a -ghost-story, but certainly it will not be a good and truthful book -that will elevate and improve the reader, for the literature of Siam -has nothing of that kind. Occasionally the books that have been -prepared by the missionaries are found in the hands of these wat-boys, -but that is the exception and not the rule. - -These schools have no regular school-term, and of course no vacations; -no regular hours for study, and of course none for play; no classes, -and of course no emulation and no chance for a dull boy to be helped -over the hard places by his near neighbor. The whole work is -controlled by the whim of the teacher at the time, without principle -and without rule. - -If a boy recites once or twice a week, all is well, and if he recites -only once or twice a month, still it is all right; and if in the -course of eight or ten years he has learned very little, there is no -one to complain. He has at least been kept out of the way at home, and -now he is of such an age that he can become a _nain_ and spend a few -more years in obtaining a smattering of the Pali or sacred language, -and after this he can become a full-fledged priest, which is the -summit of the fondest parent’s wishes. - -While a boy is at a wat he is not usually called a scholar or pupil, -but a _wat-boy_――a name which generally implies everything that is -naughty. His companions are idle, vicious fellows, fond of -cockfighting, swearing and gambling, and he grows up among them bad -just in proportion as he is clever and gifted. - -The conservative men of Siam are bewailing these latter days, and -among other things they aver that wat education is not what it was in -the good old times long ago――that then the priests were more strict -with their boys, and made them work and study more than they do now. -This may be so. But if the men who were educated in the temples years -ago, and who should now be the pillars and producers of the country, -are to be taken as exponents of what that system of education can do -for manhood, then we may safely infer that temple-life was at that -time just what it is now――a school of idleness and vice, and those who -leave its haunts are fitted only for a lazy, aimless existence. This -the natives themselves freely admit, and the time has evidently come -when something better is demanded. - -While Siam has been doing, perhaps, the best she knew for her sons, -her daughters in some respects have been much better off. They are not -supposed to need any education, and are therefore trained from -childhood to help their mothers with all kinds of heavy as well as -light work. Thus it comes to pass that the girls grow up to be the -“hewers of wood and drawers of water,” the planters and the traders of -Siam, while the influence of their brothers is to a great extent a -dead weight on the prosperity of the country. - -And now what have missionaries done to show Siam a better way? -Christianity implies knowledge, and missionaries believe in schools. -“The Oriental mind is quick in childhood, but early stops its growth;” -then to civilize and Christianize such a people the most hopeful plan -is to begin with the children. So, wherever a Presbyterian mission has -been established in Siam the church and the school have grown up -together. - -The mission-school for boys in Bangkok was opened in the early days of -the work there, and through all these years it has been doing a grand -work in educating the children of the Church as well as those brought -to it from heathen families, who have often carried the blessed truths -of the Bible with them to their heathen homes. In this, which was the -first mission-school in Siam, many plans have been tried and much -valuable experience gained. - -In Siam, as in other Eastern countries, the native mind is becoming -roused to seek for knowledge, and there is a growing desire to learn -the English language. This wish draws many into the boys’ school who -would not otherwise be found there. Trade and commerce are calling for -clerks and assistants who have a knowledge of English, and a boy with -only a smattering of the coveted foreign tongue is in demand at high -wages, and is thus often induced to leave school long before he is fit -for a business-life. This at present is a great detriment to all the -schools, but as the demand becomes supplied a higher standard will be -necessary and a more thorough education sought. - -In the boys’ mission-school it has been found necessary to have all -who enter make a written promise to remain a specified number of -years, so as to ensure a reasonable knowledge of English and a better -knowledge of that more important lesson, that “God so loved the world -that he gave his only-begotten Son.” There is hardly a business-house -in Bangkok that does not have one or more than one young man in its -employ who has been educated in the mission-school, and some of them -are consistent Christian men, a credit to their teachers and an honor -to the school. - -[Illustration: A SCHOOL IN SIAM.] - -Buddhism is planned only for men, and so girls are not taught in the -wat-schools; but as the religion of Jesus takes in the whole family, -misson-work would be lame indeed without its schools for girls. In the -East knowledge is thought to be not only unnecessary, but positively -injurious, to women; so when the missionary ladies first tried to -gather up pupils for a girls’ school they met with all kinds of -objections from the parents. In the first place, they could not -understand the motives. How could any one be so unselfish as to spend -time in teaching a lot of girls without any compensation? They did not -believe it. So at once evil-minded persons spread infamous tales, and -explained the thing by affirming that it was only a trick to secure -the children, and by and by they would be sent to America and sold as -slaves. - -Another objection was that for girls to go to school was altogether -_against the custom_, and that, of itself, was enough in Siam. Again, -suppose they went to school and learned to read, then they would know -more than their mothers, and how could they honor and respect their -parents, as they were in duty bound to do? - -But the greatest objection of all was that the girls were the workers -in the family, and if they were to spend the day in school who would -_ha kin_ (seek a living) for the family? And this seemed to be a real -difficulty. - -The question of bread and meat, or rather rice and fish, the -missionary could neither ignore nor argue away. These heathen mothers -in this respect were just like other human beings: they would not -willingly give up their daughters’ help at home, which was of real -value to the whole family, for an education which they believed would -be injurious in every way. They hated the new religion and despised -the offered education. - -As far as could be seen then, there was but one way out of the -difficulty; and so the question was asked, “How much can your girl -earn per day?” and the old mother answered, “When she finds work she -makes a _fuang_ per day” (seven and a half cents). Then said the -missionary, “Send her to me, and I will let her spend half the day in -learning to read and the other half in working, and _for her work_ I -will pay her a fuang.” At this the mother began to waver, and at last -said, “I am very poor, and sometimes it is hard to find work, so I -will let her try it.” The next morning the industrial school for girls -at Petchaburee was opened with one scholar, and she was seated on the -floor of the veranda of the mission-house, and for nearly a month -there were no additions. But there are times when it is safe to wait. -A very simple white jacket was cut, and Perm was taught to make it for -herself. After many days, and with pushing the needle from her instead -of drawing it toward her, and with holding the seam between her little -bare toes instead of pinning it to her knee, the jacket was pronounced -finished and ready to wear――the first the child had ever owned in her -life. Then she was allowed to take some soap and give herself a bath, -and then to don her new jacket and a new waist-cloth. That evening, -when she went home, she was the happiest child in the village, and -served as a good advertisement of the new-fashioned school. Before -very long the veranda and the missionary’s hands were both full. - -That was seventeen years ago, and from that time to this the school -has been carried on, and done a grand good work in many respects――one -of the most important of which is that it has furnished teachers for -five branch schools that have been established in different localities -around it. Many of its pupils are now industrious and pious wives and -mothers at the head of Christian families, while a few have gone, as -there is good reason to believe, to finish their education in heaven. - -Some object strongly to the plan of giving money to the pupils of -mission-schools, and perhaps elsewhere: _giving boarding_ instead of -money, or some other plan, might be better; but after so many years of -experience those in charge are fully convinced that for Petchaburee -this is the only feasible plan. - -If a respectable, self-reliant Church is ever built up in Siam, it -will be by cultivating the graces of industry, cleanliness and -godliness together; and the best place to do this is in well-appointed -industrial schools. Would that such could be established all over the -country for both boys and girls, and then we might reasonably hope -that some time the number of idle loungers might grow “beautifully -less”! - -A few years ago the king showed his appreciation of what this school -was doing for his people when he gave a donation of two thousand -dollars to help furnish the new school-building. - -Some years after the girls’ school at Petchaburee was started a school -was established for girls in Bangkok, but on a different plan in some -respects, the former being a day-school and for the working classes, -while the latter is a boarding-school and for a higher class of -pupils. In this school instruction is given in both the native and -English languages, and the industries are principally ornamental. Some -specimens of the work done in this school were put into the Centennial -Exhibition in 1882, and His Majesty paid a pleasant compliment to the -school when he purchased the entire lot for use in the royal palace. - -A knowledge of what the mission-schools are doing for those under -their care no doubt at first suggested to His Majesty’s mind the idea -of inaugurating something in the way of government schools that would -be after the American model and entirely different from the -wat-schools. As a first step, the “King’s School” was planned, and at -the king’s request was placed in charge of one of the American -missionaries. - -As yet, this school is only an infant in years, and no prophet has -been found wise enough to foretell what its future may be. It has -passed through all the diseases incident to childhood and youth, and -some of them have been of a most malignant nature. But, what was worst -of all, its doctors could never agree as to where the trouble was or -what remedies should be used. At length, however, it began to improve, -and now, at four years of age, it begins to breathe freely and develop -in strength and manly beauty. May Heaven’s richest blessing rest upon -it, and may God grant that the strength of its manhood may be -consecrated to his service! - -Difficulties are to be expected in the prosecution of every new -enterprise, and the most hopeful friends of the King’s School have not -been much disappointed with its various trials. The committee to whose -care His Majesty committed this school were entirely unused to -educational affairs, and for want of experience many and serious -blunders were made. But experience has taught useful lessons for -future use, and the time seems to be near when steps will be taken to -provide something better to take the place of the wat-school. - -The native mind is being directed to this subject as never before. A -striking proof of this fact is, that the queen, who is a most zealous -Buddhist, is now having a large and beautiful school-building put up -as a monument to her royal sister, who was drowned two years ago. This -building is not yet finished, and it is not known just how it is to be -managed; but it certainly seems to mark a new era, as heretofore -Buddhist temples were the only memorial buildings in the country. - -One great question for the near future seems to be, What kind of -influences will mould and shape this new educational work? Will it be -the English moralist, the French Jesuit, the German infidel or the -American Christian? The king plainly intimated his wishes when he -asked a missionary to take charge of the school under his own -patronage. And while at that time there were hardly missionaries -enough in Siam to hold on to the direct mission-work, still the hope -of securing the vantage-ground for Christianity was such that the -request could not be refused. And although, as yet, direct religious -instruction cannot be a part of the daily routine of the school-room, -there is no need to be in haste. Much must first be done to disarm -prejudice and to conciliate the minds of conservative Buddhists, and -prove to them that the missionaries are _true_ friends, who labor for -the highest welfare of the country. When that shall be made evident, -more liberty will be accorded to Christian instructors. - -Some of the members of the royal family are afraid to trust the -heir-apparent and his royal brothers to the influence of Christianity; -so a Calcutta Brahman has been employed and a school started in the -palace. A friend went to visit this school one day, and the teacher -handed some writing-books to the visitor to let him see how well the -little princes could write. Almost the first page he looked at had -this as a copy: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” -This shows what unexpected means God sometimes takes to teach the -truths of his own word, and how foolish it is for any one to suppose -that the English language can be learned without learning the religion -of Jesus at the same time. May this not be the great good that God in -his providence means to bring out of this universal desire for a -knowledge of the English language? It is so full of Christianity that -to know the one is to know the other. - -May we not hope that our mother-tongue may some day become the -language of all nations, and that Christianity may be the religion of -the world? - -[Illustration: A FEW OF THE CHILDREN OF THE LATE FIRST KING OF SIAM.] - - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -_HOLIDAYS IN SIAM._ - - -Siamese holidays are very different from those of Europe and America. -They have no Christmas, for, as a nation, they know nothing about -Christ. Their New Year holidays, strange to say, are not celebrated in -the first month of the year, but in the fifth, which corresponds to -our March or April. On one of the three days that they then observe -the doors of the temples are thrown open, and the people――women and -children especially――dressed in their best attire, enter, and, bowing -down before the idol, make offerings of flowers. The more wealthy have -prayers and preaching at their own houses, when they feast the priests -and make presents to them. During these days all are allowed to -gamble, and men, women and children engage in games of chance with all -their hearts. On New Year’s Day we, in Christian lands, pray our -heavenly Father to watch over and bless us and our friends through the -year. In this heathen land the king has companies of priests on the -tops of the walls around the city proper going through certain -ceremonies in concert to drive away evil spirits, and on one of these -nights large and small guns are fired for this purpose from the top of -the walls every twenty minutes till morning. - -Soon after New Year’s Day, and again some six months later, the -Siamese princes, lords and nobles, and all among the people who hold -any office, however small, take the oath of allegiance. They assemble -at the royal palace and drink the “water of vengeance” and sprinkle it -upon their foreheads. Do you ask, “What is the water of vengeance?” It -is water in which have been dipped swords, daggers, spears and other -instruments by which the king executes vengeance on those who rebel -against him. By drinking of it they express their willingness to be -punished with these instruments if found disloyal. The priests are -excused from this service by virtue of the sanctity of their office, -but they meet in the royal temple on that day and perform appropriate -religious services. Some of this water is sent to the residences of -the governors in the distant provinces, and the neighboring people -assemble there to drink it. - -Soon after the ceremony of taking the oath of allegiance the Siamese -have for four days a kind of _second New Year_, the time for which is -fixed by the sun instead of the moon. The priests are invited to meet -at the palace for a royal festival, and the people too feast the -priests and one another and play at their games of chance. The women -bring water, and bathe first the idols, and then their grandparents -and other aged relatives, by pouring water freely upon them. - -They observe three days of their sixth month with very great -veneration as the anniversaries of the birth, the attaining to -divinity and the death of Buddha. These three days are a great time -for “making merit,” which they think they do by giving to the poor, by -making offerings to the priests and to the idols and by listening to -prayers and preaching. All classes, young and old, high and low, rich -and poor, go to the temple-grounds and make little conical mounds of -sand a foot or two high, surmounted with flowers and small flags of -all colors. - -At the beginning of seed-time, generally in May, the time being fixed -by astrologers, they have their _Raknah_ holiday, when the minister of -agriculture is for the day regarded as king, because he, as the king’s -substitute, holds the plough, breaks up the ground and plants the -first rice of the year. He is escorted by a public procession to some -field, and there the priests, after superstitious ceremonies, decorate -a pair of oxen with flowers and fasten them to a plough, which is also -trimmed with flowers. The minister then holds the plough while the -oxen drag it over the ground for about an hour. Four elderly women -from the king’s household scatter rice over the ploughed part of the -field, and leave it there uncovered. The oxen are then liberated, and -four kinds of the grain that the people most prize are placed before -them. Whichever kind they eat much of the people think will be scarce; -that of which they eat little or none they think will be abundant -throughout the year, and they plant accordingly. - -They have two holidays every year for _swinging_, when the minister of -agriculture is carried by a long procession to a place where there is -a high swing between two tall poles. A brick platform covered with -white muslin and tastefully curtained has been prepared for him. -Attended by four Brahman priests, two on his right hand and two on his -left, he ascends this platform and stands on one foot till three games -of swinging are ended, which generally occupy two hours. If he -ventures to touch his foot once to the floor during the games, it is -said the Brahmans are allowed to take all his property from him. The -game is to catch in the mouth a purse of money that is suspended -within reach of the swinger. When the games are over the swingers -sprinkle on all about them water that has been made holy by the -priests. This is the Brahmanical mode of calling down blessings on the -people of the land. About noon the minister is escorted home by a -procession similar to the one that took him there. These ceremonies -and games are repeated on the second day. Princes and officers of -government and dense crowds of the people are present to witness them. - -The Siamese observe a season that may be called the Buddhist Lent, -when for three months the priests must not go so far away from their -temples as not to be able to return at night. All classes anticipate -this season, and provide for them such food as parched rice and corn, -also natural and artificial flowers, silvered and gilded trees, and -other articles to make their dormitories pleasant and inviting. The -day these gifts are presented is called the _Kow Wasah_ holiday. Some -of the gifts the priests offer to the idol; others they present to -their elders and to aged priests in the same temple with themselves. - -When the Buddhist Lent is ended and the priests are allowed to come -out of the temples and travel where they please, the _Auk Wasah_ -holidays are observed. In anticipation of their coming out, as of -their going in, the laity, from the highest to the lowest, prepare -clothing suitable for their wanderings. The kings have numerous -priests’ robes made of white cotton shirting dyed yellow, which is the -sacred color. The people prepare gifts according to their means. The -first three evenings there is a grand display of fireworks on the -river in front of the palaces, His Majesty honoring the occasion with -his presence. The river is alive with joyous, pleasure-seeking people -hastening to the scene. Offerings consisting of little skiffs and -rafts of banana-stalks are seen upon the river. On these are temples, -pagodas and transparencies of birds and beasts, all brightly -illuminated with wax candles. They are sent off one at a time, and -float down with the tide, beautifully illuminating the river. The -people make their own family offerings on these evenings an hour or -two before the king comes out from the palace; the floats may be seen -all over the city in the river and canals near their homes. When these -floats have all been disposed of, the king applies a match to -fireworks that have been arranged in boats near, and then are seen -trees of fire, green shrubbery and a variety of flowers of -ever-changing colors, with rockets and squibs in great profusion. - -A few days later commence the _Taut Katin_ ceremonies, or the annual -visitation of the kings to the sixty or seventy royal temples to -perform their devotions and make offerings to the priests. This is one -of the great events of the year――a festival season with the people. -The temples near the palace within the city-walls are first visited. -His Majesty, seated on an elegant golden chair of state sparkling with -gems, is borne on men’s shoulders and followed by princes and nobles -in costly carriages and by other vehicles loaded with presents of -various kinds. Then for some twelve days he, with all his princes, -ministers of state and high nobles, makes a business of visiting daily -some three or four of the temples that are accessible only by water, -and after this the second king makes his visits. The river presents a -very animated appearance as the boat-processions pass escorting His -Majesty. It is filled with barges, slender and graceful in their -proportions, each propelled by from forty to eighty natives, who fill -the air with their wild outcries as they simultaneously dip their long -paddles into the water and then raise them high into the air. First, -two by two, will be a score of canoe-like vessels, each perhaps fifty -feet long, with a bright crimson awning over the centre and some sixty -or seventy men in red uniform; then boats with music preceding the -stately barge that conveys His Majesty. This is perhaps one hundred -and twenty feet long, besides the gilded stern, which curves -gracefully up some fifteen or twenty feet from the water. From prow -and stern hang two graceful plumes of long white horse-hair, and -between them a small apron-like banner floats in the breeze. In the -centre of the boat reclines His Majesty on an elevated cushioned -platform, in a pavilion with an arching roof from which hang curtains -of crimson-and-gold cloth. The barge is propelled by eighty men with -long gilded paddles. Following the king will be a crowd of similar -elegant boats with the princes and nobles. These boats hover near in -clusters of sevens or fives or threes, and after them others, till -there is a train of eighty or a hundred boats, containing perhaps four -thousand men. All this is a splendid sight, but the Christian beholder -is pained by the thought that the display is to do honor to a false -religion and a false god. - -[Illustration: CARRYING THE KING TO THE TEMPLE.] - -While the kings are thus engaged the common people in city and country -are visiting their favorite temples and priests. Families unite, and -groups of boats may be seen filled with young men and maidens in their -gayest attire, while the air resounds with Siamese instrumental music -and the merry shouts of the boatmen as they convey their presents of -priests’ robes, fruit and flowers to the temple. - -The visitation of the temples over, the _Taut Katin_ ceremonies wind -up with a repetition for three evenings of fireworks much the same as -already described. - -Superstition and the worship of idols enter not only into the holidays -of the Siamese, but into everything they do. “They praise the gods of -silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone, which see not, nor -hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand their breath is, and whose -are all their ways, they have not glorified;” “Happy is that people -whose God is the Lord.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -_VISIT TO A GAMBLING ESTABLISHMENT._ - - -I have just now returned from exploring a celebrated gambling -establishment near my house. It is a floating house occupied by a -Chinaman. Chinamen are the master-gamblers of Siam. - -All the front of the room in which the gamblers are seated is open to -the river. As you pass along you may see them in a brilliant light, -sitting in two parties on the floor, and most interested in their -bewitching games. Just in front is a little recess on a float, which -is occupied by the musicians and play-actors. Here you will at one -time hear the deafening peals of the gong, the horns through which -they speak making unearthly sounds, then the grating notes of their -various stringed instruments, then all together with human voices the -most unmusical imaginable. - -Between these play-actors and the gamblers there is a paper screen, -with lamplight on the side of the performers, where a man is employed -in making shadow puppet-shows for the amusement of the spectators, and -no doubt contributing to the fascinating power of the gambling-shop. - -[Illustration: SIAMESE ACTRESS.] - -There are many such establishments down the river, and probably many -hundred in Bangkok, which are licensed by government. They afford no -small amount of revenue, but they are, single-handed, undermining the -pillars of this kingdom. Three days in the year the people are allowed -to gamble as they please. - -This sin will assuredly be the ruin of this nation unless there is a -speedy reformation. - - NOTE.――“Play usually begins late in the afternoon, and lasts - half the night. At one end of a Chinese gambling-saloon is - often an altar, and on it a figure of the god of luck. When - tired of gambling the Siamese adjourn to the neighboring - theatre, where they spend an hour or two watching the - Lakons’ theatrical performances, in which only girls, as a - rule, take part.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -_SIAMESE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE._ - - -Nature, according to the Siamese, is made up of four elements――namely, -earth, fire, wind and water. - -The human body is supposed to be composed of the same elements, which -they divide into two classes――visible and invisible. To the former -belong everything that can be seen, as the bones, flesh, blood, etc.; -to the latter, the wind and the fire. - -The body is composed of twenty kinds of earth, twelve kinds of water, -six kinds of wind and four kinds of fire. The varieties of wind are as -follows: The first kind passes from the head to the feet, and the -second variety from the feet to the head; the third variety resides -above the diaphragm, and the fourth circulates in the arteries, -forming the pulse; the fifth enters the lungs, and the sixth resides -in the intestines. The four kinds of fire are――first, that which gives -the body its natural temperature; the second, that which causes a -higher temperature, as after exercise or in fevers; the third variety -causes digestion, and the fourth causes old age. The Siamese divide -the body into thirty-two parts, as the skin, heart, lungs, etc. The -body is subject to ninety-six diseases, due to the disarrangement of -the earth, wind, fire and water. Thus, if there is an undue proportion -of fire we have one of the fevers. Dropsies are caused by too great a -proportion of water, and wind causes all manner of complaints. Nine -out of ten of the natives, when asked what is the matter with them, -answer “_Pen lom_” (“wind”). - -The external elements are constantly acting upon the elements making -up the body, causing health or disease. Thus, in the hot season they -believe we are more liable to fevers, and during the wet season too -much water is absorbed, causing dropsy. Earth is supposed to produce -disease by invisible and impalpable mists and vapors. - -Spirits are supposed to have great power over our bodies, deranging -the elements and producing all manner of diseases. The minds of the -natives are thus held in continual bondage for fear of the spirits, -for no one knows what great sins he may have committed in a previous -state of existence for which he may be called upon to suffer at any -moment. Thus the people are constantly endeavoring to propitiate the -spirits by presents, incantations, etc. - -In the time of Buddha lived one still worshiped as the father of -medicine. To him it is said the plants all spoke, telling their names -and medical properties. These were written in books, and have become -sacred. If they fail to produce the effects attributed to them, the -fault is never theirs, but the want of success is due to the absence -of merit in either doctor or patient. The natives use almost -everything as medicine; the bones and skins of various animals occupy -a large part of their pharmacopœia, while the galls of snakes, tigers, -lizards, etc. are among the most valuable of their medicines. Many of -the Siamese remedies are very complicated, being composed of scores of -different ingredients. - -The following is a characteristic prescription for the bite of a -snake: A portion of the jaw of a wild hog; a portion of the jaw of a -tame hog; a portion of the jaw of a goat; a portion of goose-bone; a -portion of peacock-bone; a portion of the tail of a fish; a portion of -the head of a venomous snake. These, being duly compounded, form a -popular remedy when the venom has caused lockjaw. - -Many other native remedies are equally marvelous, but I cannot mention -them. Every native physician has an image of the father of medicine in -his house. The drugs are placed in this idol’s hand and receive his -blessing; afterward they are taken to the patient’s house and boiled -in earthen pots, a wickerwork star being placed below and above the -drugs to give the medicines strength. The patient is usually obliged -to swallow many potsful of medicine, each pot containing two or three -quarts. If the patient dies, the doctor gets no fee. - -The influence which Western medical science is exerting in Siam is -shown in the following incident, mentioned in a recent Bangkok -newspaper. The young man alluded to is a graduate of the Presbyterian -mission boarding-school: “Dr. Tien Hee, who received a diploma from -the New York University School of Medicine, where he graduated some -years ago, performed a very difficult and delicate operation a few -days ago upon a distinguished Siamese official, and we learn with -pleasure that the king has since graciously permitted him to practice -in the royal palace.” - -A writer in the same paper gives the following account of a hospital -established by the Siamese, and conducted by a graduate of a Western -medical college, the same that is mentioned above: “To-day (November -29th) I had the pleasure of visiting the first and only hospital -organized and controlled by the Siamese within the kingdom of Siam. It -was opened for the reception of patients on the 14th of December. It -is a large, airy, two-storied building, situated within the -city-walls, near Sampeng market-gate, and has capacity for sixty -patients. It is a hospital devoted to the exclusive care of soldiers, -and is under the management of a Siamese physician, Dr. Tien Hee. Siam -owes the establishment of its first hospital to the energy of one of -its most intelligent noblemen, Pra Nai Wai, who completed and -presented the building for it to the Siamese government. His Majesty -accepted the gift and has promised it his support. It has for its -director a cultivated and capable Siamese physician, who will be able -to give the patients the benefit of Western medical and surgical -science.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -_CHOLERA-TIMES IN BANGKOK._ - - -Those indeed were dreadful days in the summer of 1849, when, after -being free from it thirty years, cholera again broke out in Siam; when -in less than a fortnight more than twenty thousand people perished in -the one city of Bangkok; when, go where you would in the streets, you -would meet men carrying their dead slung from a bamboo borne on the -shoulders of two of them; when hundreds of corpses were thrown into -the river and heaps on heaps were piled up like logs and burned to get -them out of the way. - -I need not say that the Siamese were very much frightened when this -dreadful disease broke out among them. They saw their friends and -neighbors sicken in an hour and dying on their right hand and left in -almost every house, and each one feared it might be his turn next. But -where did they look for help? Did the king proclaim a fast-day, think -you? and the people repent of their many sins and pray to God to have -mercy on them? Alas! God was not in the thoughts of this people at -all. Their religion teaches them there is no God――no Creator who made -the world: the world made itself, they say; it always was. The god -they do worship, Buddha, whose images are in every temple, was nothing -but a mere man like themselves, and, now he has left the world, knows -nothing, cares nothing, about it, or indeed about aught else. - -The common notion about the pestilence was that an army of wicked -spirits had come invisibly to carry off mankind to make them their -servants in the unseen world. Oh, how anxious they were to make these -spirits of the air their friends! So the people made various offerings -in order to conciliate the good-will of these spirits of the air. - -It was a common practice in those days to form a little square tray -from pieces of the plantain tree, and, placing the offerings -thereupon, leave them by the side of the street, where the spirits -would find them, or else, placing them on the water, let them float -down the stream. The river and land were full of them. - -Coming home one night, I stumbled over one right in my path, and, -having a lantern, stopped to examine it. On the rude tray, which was -about a foot square, were strewed rice, some coarse salt tied up in a -little rag, some fresh flowers, betel-nut, sliced plantain, the end of -a torch, and two rough images of clay representing a man and woman, -each with a dirty shred of cloth about it. The object in making images -was that the spirits might accept them for their servants instead of -the persons who offered them. The invisible spirits never carried off -any of these dainty gifts, but I have seen sensible-looking dogs -helping themselves freely to the rice and whatever else was eatable. - -Some would take great pains to make perfect little models of a Chinese -junk, painted gayly, and fit them out with little red and white -banners, wax tapers, fruit and flowers. These boats contained as -passengers clay images of men, women and children, and at dusk the -tapers were lighted and the little vessels launched on the river as an -offering to the spirits, to be borne away on the tide. Many charms -were also used to keep off the evil spirits that bring disease. They -consisted of strips of paper with various squares and marks upon them, -sewed up in bits of red cloth or leather of a three-cornered shape. - -But by far the most common practice as a preventive of cholera was -wearing a few strands of cotton yarn about the neck or wrist. Go where -you would, in the market or along the river-side, nearly all women and -children wore this white string. I have been in the houses of noblemen -where one had just been taken sick, when all the women of the family -were busy dividing a hank of cotton yarn into portions and tying them -around the wrists or necks of themselves and their children with as -much earnestness as though their lives depended on it. Often in trying -to feel for the pulse of some poor dying creature have I pushed this -cotton thread away to get at the wrist. - -Many houses were entirely encircled by a long cotton cord, with bits -of written paper fastened to it here and there. The outer -palace-walls, more than a mile in circumference, were thus girt -around, the cord looped up from the battlements every few rods. But -Death crossed the enchanted line, if the spirits did not, and hundreds -of the king’s large household were swept away. - -The pestilence had not been prevailing long before the Chinese in the -city, at their houses on land and at every floating house for miles -along the river and canals, had a tall bamboo pole put up, with cords -attached by which a little lantern could be raised to the top. After -dark, when all these were lighted, they gave the river a beautiful -appearance. This foolish waste of oil was kept up all night for weeks -and months. Besides this, the Chinese tried to get the favor of their -gods by the firing of crackers, boat-races and processions on land and -water. - -There were other spirits, besides those that they supposed had caused -the pestilence, that the Siamese treated with great respect during -those days. Before or near almost every house, raised on a single pole -about as high as one’s head, stood a little wooden house, having one -small room opening on a little porch. In this porch and room you would -always find a quantity of offerings――such curious ones, too, that you -would be more sure than ever it was a doll’s play-house, yet the -grown-up members of the family had built them to secure the good-will -of the spirit guarding the spot occupied by their dwelling. - -A piece of board shaped something like the head of a spear, slips of -cloth covered with written characters, little clay images of -elephants, horses, men and women, rice, betel-nut, tobacco and -flowers,――these would be offered, in addition to the wax tapers kept -burning and food set out, if any of the family were sick. - -The worshiping of these spirits is a kind of superstition that appears -to have been handed down by the forefathers of the Siamese from the -ancient times before the Buddhist religion, which throws no light upon -it, was introduced into their country. As the people believe that -these spirits can protect them from sickness during cholera-time, the -offering-houses are well supplied, and the little sprites (had there -been any) would not have lacked tobacco, betel, food and clothing, or -clay horses to ride. - -The temples of the idols and the priests were not forgotten in those -days. The preaching-places were filled with hearers, presents were -made in abundance to the priests and there was much bowing to idols. -One great man was sure that he could not die of cholera because he had -gained so much merit by paying the expenses of making a number of new -priests――some three or four hundred _ticals_; but he too was taken -away by the fatal disease. Priests were in demand also to chant -prayers over the dying, that they might be happy in the next life. I -was much affected by seeing a poor mother trying to comfort her son, a -young man stricken down by disease and fast sinking. She told him to -think of the favor of his god, and then, putting his hands together -with the palms touching, as he was too far gone to raise them himself, -lifted them for him above his head, as is done in the worship of -Buddha. And so this life went out, as thousands upon thousands have -done since, in blind groping after its god, and this mother was left, -as many, many mothers in that land have been left, without one ray of -hope or light beyond the borderland which the spirit of her dear one -had passed. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -_SIAMESE CUSTOMS FOR THE DYING AND DEAD._ - - -When a Buddhist prince or princess is at the point of death, the -attendants, wishing to give the departing spirit as good a passport -into the spirit-world as possible, suspend every other care and -address themselves to the work of fixing the thoughts of the dying one -upon Buddha. To accomplish this they take turns in enunciating as -clearly as possible the name of Buddha generally employed when in -health――_P’ra Arahang_. - -Whenever the writer has been present at the death of an adult member -of the royal family, this has been the name used. It is uttered as -often as eight or ten times in a minute. This is done, hoping that the -departed spirit will thus be helped to think of Buddha, and that that -will accumulate a large fund of merit to his credit which will become -of vast service to him in the spirit-world. It would seem to be a -service having much the same object as that of the “_extreme unction_” -of the Roman Catholics. It is continued from ten to fifteen minutes -after the pulse has stopped its beating and the lungs their heaving, -even until the body is cold and stiff in death. - -When all evidence of hearing is gone the attending friends will raise -their voices almost to a stunning pitch, hoping that they may force -the departing spirit to hear the name of _P’ra Arahang_. When the most -loving friends have ceased to have any lingering hope that the dead -can hear them longer, then the continuous and deafening sounds of -_P’ra Arahang_ are exchanged for the most uncontrollable wailings, -which are so loud that they can be heard at a great distance. Then all -members of the family, including the slaves in the house within -hearing, join in a general outburst of crying and sobbing. - -When a prince of high rank has just died, other princes, nobles and -lords, in the order of their rank, step up one by one and pour a -dipper of water upon the corpse. Certain officials in the household -dress the body for a sitting posture in a pair of tightly-fitting -short pantaloons and jacket, and over these a winding sheet wrapped -around the body as firmly as possible. Thus prepared, the corpse is -placed in a copper urn with an iron grating for its bottom, and this -is put into one made of fine gold, with an outlet at the most pendent -point, and a stopcock from which the fluid parts of the body are daily -drawn off until it becomes quite dry. The golden urn is then placed on -an elevated platform, while conch-shell blowers and trumpeters and -pipers perform their several parts with the greatest possible harmony -of such instruments. This act is called _Ch’on p’ra sop K’u’n p’ra -taan_――literally, an invitation to the corpse to be seated on the -platform. - -When thus seated all the insignia of royalty which the prince was wont -to have about him in life are arranged in due order at his feet――viz. -his golden betel-box, his cigar-case, his golden spittoon, his writing -apparatus, etc. The band of musicians now perform a funeral dirge; and -they assemble daily at early dawn, at noon and at nightfall to perform -in concert with a company of mourning women who bewail the dead and -chant his virtues. In the intervals a company of Buddhist priests, -four at a time, sitting on the floor a little distant from the -platform, recite moral lessons and chant incantations in the Pali, -with loud, clear, musical intonations. - -This service is continued day and night, with only the intervals for -the performance of the dirges and mourning women, and a few minutes -each hour as the four priests retire and another four come in and take -their place. This is kept up from week to week and month to month -until the time appointed for burning the corpse has arrived, which may -be from two to six or even eight months. The remains of a king are -usually kept from eight to twelve months. (In the present case the -remains have been kept seventeen months.) - -In event of the death of a king his successor immediately begins -preparations for the _P’ramene_, which is the splendid temporary -building under which the body is to sit in state several days on a -throne glittering with silver, gold and precious stones, and then and -there to be committed to the flames. - -The building is intended to be in size and grandeur according to the -estimation in which the deceased was held. Royal orders are forthwith -sent to the governors of four different provinces far away to the -north, in which large timber abounds, requiring each of these to -furnish one of the four large logs for the centre pillars of the -_P’ramene_. These must be of the finest timber, usually the oil tree, -very straight, two hundred feet long and proportionately large in -circumference, which the writer has observed to be not less than -twelve feet. There are always twelve other pillars, a little smaller -in size, demanded at the same time from governors of other provinces, -as also much other timber needful in the erection of the _P’ramene_ -and the numerous buildings connected with it. - -[Illustration: CREMATION TEMPLE: A TEMPORARY BUILDING.] - -As sacred custom will not tolerate the use of pillars that have been -used on any former occasion, new ones must be obtained for the funeral -obsequies of each king. These four large pillars are very difficult to -find, and can be floated down to the capital only at seasons of the -year when the rivers where they are found are full. They are hauled to -the banks of the streams by elephants and buffaloes. The great -difficulty of procuring these pillars is one main cause of the usual -long delay of the funeral burning of a king. When brought to the city -they are hauled up to the place of the _P’ramene_ chiefly by the -muscular power of men working by means of a rude windlass and rollers -under the logs. They are then hewed and planed a little――just enough -to remove all crooks and other deformities――and finished off in a -cylindrical form. Then they are planted in the ground thirty feet -deep, one at each corner of a square not less than one hundred and -sixty feet in circumference. When in their proper place they stand -leaning a little toward each other, so that they describe the form of -a four-sided, truncated pyramid from one hundred and fifty to one -hundred and eighty feet high. On the top of these is framed a -pagoda-formed spire, adding from fifty to sixty more feet to the -height of the structure. This upper part is octagonal, and so covered -with yellow tin sheets and tinseled paper as to make a grand -appearance at such a height, but it would not well bear close -inspection. - -Surrounding the _P’ramene_ there is a new bamboo fence ten feet high, -enclosing a square of more than two acres, with a gate midway on three -sides. On the inside of this fence are numberless bamboo buildings, -fantastically painted and papered, for the accommodation of the -priests and nobles, one side of the square being chiefly occupied with -buildings for the king’s own accommodation while attending the -ceremonies of the royal cremation. These are distinguished from all -others by having their roofs covered with crimson cloth, the peculiar -horn-like projections at the two ends of their ridges, and by the -golden drapery suspended in front and tastefully gathered up to the -several posts of the hall. - -The whole area is neatly covered with bamboo wickerwork, the slats of -which the woof and warp are made being more than an inch wide, forming -thus one unbroken bamboo carpet, giving great elasticity to the steps -of all who walk upon it. - -There are placed here and there upon this bamboo floor multitudes of -standards peculiar to the Siamese. Some are like the _Sawe-krachat_, -or royal umbrella of several stories high. Some of them are with -machinery exhibiting a variety of little paper figures in perpetual -action, imaging angels or devils. Here and there you will see a niche -with rude landscape views of the lower series of the Buddhists’ -celestial worlds and of princely dwellings there, with delightful -pools and groves and many other sensual luxuries which a heathen mind -fancies a heaven of happiness must give its inhabitants. - -Outside of the bamboo fence are buildings for the accommodation of -officers of the government and others who cannot find room within the -enclosure. There are also numerous playhouses for theatrical and -puppet-shows, masquerades, wire-dancing, etc., and, more interesting -to many, the great victualing establishment for all classes above the -vulgar, presenting a large variety of dishes and fruits, well prepared -and tempting to the appetite, all freely offered without price at all -hours of the day. - -Thus much of a bird’s-eye view of what may be termed the mere shell of -the _P’ramene_. - -The real _P’ramene_ is erected in the centre of the whole, in the -great hall directly under the loftiest spire, and in the centre of -this stands the _P’ra Bencha_, or throne, on which the royal urn is -placed in state. This is a splendid eight-sided pyramid, fifty or -sixty feet in circumference, its base on a floor twenty feet above the -ground. It diminishes by right-angled gradations upward some thirty -feet to a truncated top, and on its top is placed the golden urn -containing the remains of the late king most superbly decorated with -gold, diamonds and other precious stones. Some ten or fifteen feet -above this is suspended from the lofty ceiling a rich golden canopy, -and far up above that is a white circular awning overshadowing the -whole. Immediately under the golden canopy hang the sweetest and -whitest flowers arranged in the form of a large chandelier. - -The _Pra Bencha_ is made brilliant by the skillful arrangement on its -several steps of the most showy articles of porcelain, glass, -alabaster, silver and gold artificial flowers and fruits intermixed -with real fruits, little images of birds, beasts, men, women, -children, angels, etc. - -For illuminating the hall splendid chandeliers are suspended from the -four corners of the ceiling, assisted by innumerable lesser lights on -the angular gradations of the pyramid. - -At the time of placing the royal remains in state on that lofty throne -nearly all the princes, chief nobles and officials in the kingdom -assemble just after the break of day to escort “the sacred corpse” to -its last earthly throne on the summit of the new _P’ramene_. - -The golden urn is placed upon a high golden seat in a kind of -Juggernaut car drawn by a pair of horses assisted by hundreds of men. -This vehicle is preceded by two other wheel carriages, the first -occupied solely by the high priest of the kingdom, sitting on a high -seat, reading a sacred book of moral lessons in Pali called -_App’it’am_. The second carriage is occupied by a few of the most -favored children of the deceased. A strip of silver cloth is attached -to the urn and loosely extends to the two front carriages. This forms -the mystical union between the corpse, the sacred book and their royal -highnesses. The carriage behind the one bearing the royal urn carries -some fifty or sixty sticks of imported fragrant wood, richly gilded at -the ends, with which the body is to be burned. Each of these carriages -is drawn by a pair of horses, with scores of men to assist, all -pulling at a rope in front of the beasts. - -Figures of elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, tigers and fabulous -animals, all made of bamboo wickerwork and having on their backs large -receptacles for priests’ robes, are drawn on small wooden wheels. In -front and in the rear hundreds of men dressed in white, with -pagoda-form white turbans eight or ten inches tall, purporting to be -angels, walk four abreast and carry glass imitation lotus-flowers. - -The moment the procession begins to move the shells, trumpets and -pipes are sounded and the death-drums are beaten with a slow, measured -stroke until the royal hearse reaches the _P’ramene_. By ropes and -pulleys the urn is drawn slowly up with much ceremony and placed on -the splendid throne, to remain in state at least seven days before -burning, the strip of silver cloth extending from the lid of the urn -down the eastern and western sides of the pyramid nearly to the flight -of steps on the east and west sides of the building. - -Then the chief priests of the city and from nearly all other parts of -the kingdom begin to assemble, a hundred or more at a time, on the -floor of the _P’ramene_ in sight of the holy urn, and rehearse in -concert lessons in Pali called _P’ang-soo-koon_, which are in -substance reflections on the brevity and uncertainty of human life, -the certainty of death and transmigration, the sorrows connected with -every state of mutability and the blessings of Nipan, where there can -be no more change. Having uttered audibly these short lessons, they -continue in a sitting posture, with downcast looks, a few minutes, -reflecting silently on the condition of the living and the dead, and -then retire, giving place to another hundred or more to recite the -same lessons. Thus they come and go until thousands of the chief -priests and others of lower rank have had the honor; and this is -repeated every day while the corpse sits in state and for three days -afterward. - -All the princes and nobles and royal servants are dressed in white. -Every Siamese subject, noble or plebeian, man and woman, bond and -free, must then out of respect for the dead have his head entirely -shaven. - -The multitudes of priests are sumptuously fed from the royal bounty -early every morning, and again before noon. Yellow robes are prepared -for them at the expense of the king’s private purse. To every chief -priest he gives a complete suit, and to every other priest some -important part of a suit, if not the whole. Besides the yellow robes, -the king has also in readiness vast provisions of bedsteads, fully -furnished with mosquito-bars, mattresses, pillows, towels, spittoons, -betel-boxes, cigar-cases, rice-kettles, lacquered trays, lamps, -candles, boats with little houses on them, and other articles which -the priests need in their daily calling. These articles he distributes -to them every day. - -Another performance, usually more exciting than all the rest, is the -daily scattering of money broadcast among the thousands that have -assembled there for the sport. The king takes personally a very lively -part in it. The money and jewelry are usually imbedded in little green -limes or small balls of wood, to prevent them from getting lost among -the crowd. His Majesty, standing in his temporary palace-door, having -bushels of limes at his feet, each charged with one piece of money, -taking up a handful at a time, throws them, often so guiding his hand -as that some peculiar favorite shall have the best chance in the -game――some corpulent prince whom he wishes to set into ludicrous -motion by his efforts to catch the flying prize. To show proper -respect, every one, whether prince or prime minister or consul or -missionary, must exert himself to catch His Majesty’s gifts while -flying, and must go down on all fours grabbing after them at the feet -of the multitude if they happen to fall there. He manifestly enjoys -the sport, often laughing most heartily at the sight of the jumping, -scrambling and groveling eagerness of his lords to obtain the limes. - -Sometimes the limes are hung on artificial trees called _ton -Kappapruk_――literally, “trees that gratified the desires of men.” They -are intended to represent the four trees that are to be found in each -of the four corners of the city in which the next Buddha is to be -born, and which will bear not only money, but seri-leaf, betel-nut, -oranges, clothing, gold, diamonds――in short, everything else that man -shall need for his comfort under his reign. - -Four men ascend the mound in which these trees are planted to pluck -the fruit by handfuls and cast them to crowds of men who stand as -compacted as it would seem possible for them to live. Every throw is -instantly followed by a universal shout from the multitude and a rush -for the prize. And then they surge hither and thither like a forest -swayed by a mighty wind. The writer thinks he has seen ten thousand -men engaged at one time in this kind of sport. It takes but about -fifteen minutes to pluck all the fruit from these trees, and then the -game is over. It is a rare thing for a man to catch more than two or -three limes. - -Still another mode of dispensing the royal gifts on such occasions is -to divide them into lots, with a slip of palm-leaf attached to each -lot and a copy of each on another slip, which, being rolled up or put -into the wooden ball or lime, is thrown out by the king to his favored -audience. He sometimes adopts a similar mode in dispensing his favors -to companies of the chief priests, taking care, of course, that only -such things as are suitable for priests are put into such lots. - -Sundry Chinese, Malay and Siamese dramas and shadow-scenes are played, -and at early candlelight the _P’ramene_ is most brilliantly -illuminated within and without. About eight or nine o’clock in the -evening the fireworks are sent off, being occasionally ignited by the -king himself. You first hear the crackling of the matches, then you -see the sulphuric fire and smoke running up tall bamboo poles and -extending out into branches. Presently a dozen tall trees of fire -throw an intense light over all the premises. These quickly burn out, -and another flash brings into view beautiful fire-shrubbery. In a -minute or two they blossom roses, dahlias, oleanders and other flowers -of all hues, and the most beautiful, continually changing their colors -like the chameleon until they all fade out into darkness. You are -startled by the report of rockets sent up from various places in rapid -succession, a hundred or more, showing that the Siamese are not far -behind the times in this art. Immediately after this you will hear a -terrible roaring like the bellowing of a dozen elephants, with an -occasional crash like the bursting of a small engine-boiler. They are -the fireworks called _Chang rawng_, which means “bellowing elephants.” -Suddenly innumerable fire-birds begin chirping, buzzing, hopping and -flying in all directions. Some ascend high in the air and burst with a -small spluttering report. Mimic volcanic eruptions, attended with jets -of ignited sulphur and iron, ascending like waterspouts and falling in -showers of red-hot lava, are kept going until fifty or more have been -fired. - -Before the burning of the body the golden urn containing the corpse is -removed from the top of the _Pra Bencha_, and the copper urn taken -out. This has an iron grating at the bottom overlaid with spices and -fragrant powders. All the precious articles with which the pyramid was -decorated are temporarily removed from it, and some eight or ten feet -of the upper part of it taken down to form a place of suitable -dimensions for the burning. Then the fragrant wood is laid in order in -cross layers on the platform, having a bellows attached to the pile. -Precious spices and fragrant articles, many in kind, are put among the -wood. A gunpowder match is laid from a certain part of the hall set -apart for the seat of the king, reaching to a spot made particularly -combustible in the pile of wood. These changes are made with -surprising rapidity. - -All being ready, the king takes electric fire――which had been -preserved for such purposes for a long time――and touches it to the end -of the match at his feet. This kindles a flame in the midst of the -wood. Immediately the next in rank among the princes steps up and lays -his large wax candle, lighted from a lamp burning in the same -lightning fire, among the wood or on the top of it as seems to him -most convenient. The next prince in order of rank does the same, and -all the nobles and lords lay their wax candles among the wood. The -rank-order is soon lost in the hurry of the many who wish to -contribute their candles before it shall be too late. Hundreds of wax -candles, great and small, are laid on the wood ere the burning has -advanced too far to admit any more. - -To prevent the flames from becoming too intense for the safety of the -_P’ramene_ and its appendages, strong men armed with long-handled -dippers are dashing water whenever and wherever required; there are -others armed with iron pokers, whose business it is to stir the fire -occasionally. The moment the wood is fired the funeral bands strike up -their dirges and the company of mourning women set up their wailing. -This continues only a few minutes. The time occupied in the burning is -not more than one hour. - -[Illustration: TOMB OF A BONZE.] - -The fire is extinguished before all the bones have been reduced to -ashes. A few of the remaining coals of the bones are carefully -collected and deposited in a neat and very precious gold urn. By the -time this is done the sun is set, and the _P’ramene_ is left in a -despoiled state until next morning. Nevertheless, the hall is lighted -and all the usual exercises go on through the night as before. Early -the next morning the _Pra Bencha_ pyramid is restored to its original -splendor and the little golden urn of precious coal is placed on its -summit. - -All the ashes left by the burning are put in clean white muslin and -laid in a golden platter. They are then ceremoniously carried in state -to the royal landing, and, escorted by a procession of state barges, -attended by the funeral bands, carried down the river about a mile and -there committed to its waters. - -The funeral obsequies of a king are continued three days after the -burning, and the ceremonies are almost the same as those in -anticipation of it until the last day. On that day a royal procession -is formed, somewhat like that of the first day, to bear the charred -remains in the little golden urn to a sacred depository of such relics -of the kings of Siam within the royal palace. Very soon after this the -servants of the king gather up all the articles which it is customary -to preserve for future funeral occasions――viz. the permanent gold and -silver stands, the golden canopy and the ornaments of the pyramid. But -the timber of which the _P’ramene_ and its appendages are made is -taken down and converted to other uses, usually the building of -Buddhist temples.[1] - - -FUNERALS AMONG THE PEOPLE. - -These very costly funerals of the royal family and nobility are not -possible, of course, among the common people. The priests, however, -are generally sent for to attend the dying, and when there sprinkle -the suffering one with holy water, recite passages from their sacred -books and pronounce the name of Buddha repeatedly. - -After death there is a season of weeping and wailing by the family, -and the body is then washed and wrapped tightly in white cloth. An urn -or wooden coffin covered with gilt paper and decorated with tinsel -flowers is brought, and the body placed therein. - -Among the people the corpse is not kept long in the dwelling, and -instances have been known where the dying one was removed outside on -account of the superstitious fears of the family. - -When the coffin is carried off, it is not through a door or window, -but a hole is cut in the bamboo wall, and sometimes the bearers run -around the house two or three times, lest the spirit should find its -way back and haunt the premises. - -The cremation takes place in some temple-ground where there is a -permanent _P’ramene_. But occasionally the dying “make merit” by -bequeathing their dead body to the vultures. In such cases the flesh -is cut off with a knife and fed to these birds of prey, which haunt -the burning-localities in great numbers, and the bones only are -burned. Paupers and criminals are thus fed to the vultures or burned -without ceremony. All persons struck dead by lightning or carried off -suddenly by small-pox or cholera are first buried for some months, and -then dug up and burned. - -The funerals of the wealthy last several days, and are connected with -feasting, fireworks and theatrical displays. The garb of mourning in -Siam is white, not black, and is accompanied with shaving of the heads -of all the immediate family and their servants. - - -CREMATION AT BEJREPUREE OF A MAN IN THE MIDDLE WALKS OF LIFE. - -[From the _Bangkok Recorder_, May, 1866.] - -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 temple, 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 that packs of greedy dogs were also in -waiting 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 these carrion-feeders. -The birds, not satisfied with what they got from the altar, came down -and quarreled 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 burning of the bones after the vultures -and dogs had stripped them. The sexton, with the assistance of -another, gathered 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 burning the bones. Then a lighted torch was -applied to the pile, and the relatives and other mourners advanced and -laid each a wax candle by the torch. Others brought incense and cast -it on the pile. - -The vultures, having had but a scanty breakfast, lingered about 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. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -_THE WATS OF SIAM._ - - “On the pagoda-spire - The bells are swinging, - With their little golden circlets in a flutter - With tales the wooing winds have dared to utter, - Till all are ringing - As if a choir - Of golden-nested birds in heaven were singing; - And with a lulling sound - The music floats around, - And drops like balm into the drowsy ear.”――MRS. JUDSON. - - -A Siamese wat, instead of a single lofty pagoda, as often represented -in the pictures of Burmah, consists of a number of buildings scattered -about a large park-like enclosure. Let us in imagination visit such a -Buddhist temple connected with a monastery――say, one of the largest to -be found in any part of the world――in Bangkok. - -Starting on such an expedition, at the entrance of the enclosure, -generally near the boat-landing on the river, you would find a large -garden or rest-house, called by the Burmese _zayat_ and by the Siamese -_sala_. This sala is made up of two or three open pavilions, according -to the size of the wat, erected as lounging-places for the inmates or -as resting-places for travelers. It is to the Siamese what the inn is -to the American or Englishman, and is often useful to our missionaries -in their tours about the country. To build a _sala_ is considered a -meritorious act by the Buddhists. - -[Illustration: BANYAN TREE (_Ficus indica_).] - -You pass the sala and enter an area, generally consisting of several -acres of ground, laid out with trees and ornamental shrubbery. Here -are shady walks, always hard and smooth, sometimes paved with marble; -fruit- and flower-gardens; not seldom artificial grottoes; pools with -fish and playing fountains; and miniature mountains. There is also one -large tree, claimed to be a shoot of the veritable tree under which -Shakyamuni sat when he attained to Buddha-ship――the sacred Bôdhi tree. - -[Illustration: SIAMESE TEMPLE.] - -“You may remark,” says Dr. Eitel, “that the tree before you is by no -means a _Ficus religiosa_, but a _Ficus indica_, or it may happen that -it is neither of the two, but a palm tree (most probably then the -_Borassus flabelliformis_); but the attendant priest who acts as your -guide will tell you nevertheless, with a bland smile, that it _is_ a -_Ficus religiosa_, and that only ignorant and wantonly skeptical -persons can have any doubt on the subject. Is there not a plate -erected at the foot of the tree stating that this tree grew out of a -shoot brought directly from the holy land, cut off the very Bôdhi tree -at Gâya? - -“It is a remnant of the ancient tree-worship that almost every -religious sect of Asia has a sacred tree of its own. The Brahmans -revered the _Ficus indica_, for which Buddhism originally substituted -the _Ficus religiosa_. But in course of time the Buddhists either -reverted to the former tree or confounded the two. They were probably -led to do so by the intuitive apprehension that Buddhism as it grew -and spread singularly followed the mode of growth which is a -distinctive mark of the sacred tree of the Brahmans, the _Ficus -indica_. It is a peculiarity of the latter that it extends itself by -letting its branches droop and take root, planting nurseries of its -own, and thus so multiplying itself that a single tree forms a -curiously arched grove. - -“This is precisely the way in which Buddhism propagated itself. It -germinated in India, but sent out branches south and north, each -taking root, and each perpetuating itself by further offshoots, whilst -the parent stock was gradually withered, and finally decayed. Buddhism -left but few traces behind in India, but it still lives in Ceylon and -in the offshoots of the Singhalese Church in Burmah, Siam and Pegu. -When Buddhism became almost totally extinct in India, the whole force -of its vitality seemed to throw itself northward, and it spread with -renewed vigor and widening shade over Cashmere and Nepaul to China and -Thibet. Chinese Buddhism threw forth new branches, northward into -Corea and Japan and southward over Cochin-China, Cambodia and Laos, -whilst Thibetan Buddhism pushed its branches into Mongolia, Mantchuria -and the greater part of Central Asia. - -“Now, in each of these countries Buddhism established separate -churches, each having its own locally diversified life, its own -saplings, its own fruits, and yet all these many branches from one -grove connected with each other and the old withered parent stock in -India by a network of intertwining roots. Shivanism and Shananism, -which saturated and leavened the churches of the north to a very -considerable extent, now influenced the minds of Southern Buddhists. -They clung to the old traditions, retained the ancient dogma, -preserved their primitive monastic and ecclesiastical forms in languid -torpor, but with tolerable fidelity. Yet still, Burmese and Siamese -Buddhism under the influence of Brahmanism went so far as to -amalgamate with the Buddhist religious notions derived from the -primitive tree- and serpent-worship, which was a form of religion not -only prior to Buddhism, but indigenous in Burmah and Siam. The -consequence is, that practical Buddhist worship there is marked by the -prevalence of Brahmanic mythology.” - -At the cremations, during plagues, epidemics and floods, our -missionaries tell us, more attention is given to spirit-worship than -to Buddhism proper. During the rice-planting and harvest the favor of -the spirits of the air, earth and water is sought. Spirit-offerings -may be found in the homes of the people, in the boats, fish-poles, -threshing-floors, and even hanging to the sacred Bô tree itself. - -As you turn into the principal avenue of the grounds of a wat you will -be very apt to find figures of enormous stone griffins, representing -the demon kings of the four regions who guard the world against the -attacks of evil spirits; and crouching lions, stone emblems of -Shakyamuni (literally, “Shakya the lion”), who is, according to the -Buddhists, by his strength the king of the beasts, as he is by his -moral excellence the king of men. - -[Illustration: TEMPLE AT AYUTHIA.] - -On a sunny day you will find gathered in the area of the outer court a -motley assemblage of priests, boys and beggars, lazily basking in the -sun or engaged in various pursuits――chewing betel-nut, smoking, -gambling or playing chess; which latter is much the same game as our -own, only the powers of the pieces are more restricted. If it should -happen to be a Siamese holy day, a busy multitude of all ages and both -sexes, men, women and children, will be passing to and fro, carrying -offerings to the temple or going to hear Buddhist preaching. - -[Illustration: MONASTERY OF WAT SISAKET.] - -Let us examine the buildings more closely. Passing the first, possibly -the second, court, you reach by a flight of steps the wide terrace on -which stands the principal temple or idol-house. This court is -surrounded by a quadrangular row of cloisters; handsome jars filled -with lotus and other plants surround the temple. This is only a large -Siamese hall, built of brick thickly coated with white plaster, which -at a little distance gives it the appearance of marble. The pyramidal -roof, in vertical stages, turns up at the extremities in great horns, -and is resplendent with glazed red, green and yellow tiles. The roofs, -gable-ends, doors and windows (without glass) are of solid timber, -covered in a bewildering way with intricately-cut cornices, -intersecting mouldings and fantastic embellishments of grotesque human -and animal figures, elaborately carved and heavily gilded――an art in -which the Siamese have considerable skill. The large square room -within is ornamented with painted paper representing scenes taken from -Buddhist mythology or horrible mediæval-like pictures of their -_inferno_, or series of hells. - -[Illustration: BRASS IDOL IN A TEMPLE AT BANGKOK.] - -Entering this building, you see an altar, generally eight or ten -shelves high, tapering to a gilded point. It contains many-sized -figures of Buddha in the sitting posture, together with a gaudy -display of wax candles, incense-tapers, gold and silver tinsel -ornaments, offerings of fruit and flowers. Possibly some priests in -yellow robes, with burning candles, are chanting monotonous liturgies; -more probably, however, no priests are seen, but only people coming -and going with gifts to this dead god Buddha. Step nearer. Do not fear -to disturb their devotions. Instead of the decorum usual in Christian -churches, the votaries are social, and even noisy――one moment -prostrate before the altar, the next singing an idle song. Men -smoking, women mixing freely with the crowd, neither veiled nor shy. -They are the most assiduous in the religious performances, going about -sprinkling the images with perfumes and offering oblations of lighted -incense-rods, fresh lotus and other flowers, chaplets or artificial -flowers, fruits, and clothes of various descriptions. Children three -years old go through with their prostrations before the images with -great composure and gravity. - -Each country professing Buddhism appears to adopt its own idea as to -the shape of its images. Those of Siam have an attenuated figure, -comporting with our associations of the ascetic. These images have a -complacent, sleepy look, the long ears resting on the shoulders, the -fingers and toes of equal length. The best images are of bronze or -brass, one large brass idol of Bangkok being a perfect giant in size. -There are also silver and plate-gold idols, but the more numerous are -a composite of plaster, resin and oil mixed with hair, and, after the -figure is shaped, covered with varnish, upon which is laid a thick -coat of gilding. Into the composition of the great “sleeping idol” of -Bangkok were put thousands of bushels of lime, molasses, quick-silver -and other materials, at a cost of several thousand dollars. These -idols are not only in the temples, but everywhere――on mountain-tops -and caves and in the homes of the people. - -In the famous Wat P’hra Keäu (the private temple of the royal family -within the palace enclosure, and connecting by a secret passage with -the most private apartments of His Majesty’s harem) is perhaps the -finest specimen of an altar. It is at least sixty feet high, tapering -to a golden spire. The shelves are loaded with rare and costly -specimens of Siamese, Chinese and European art――idols covered with -plate gold, solid silver vases of beautiful workmanship, golden -candlesticks, marble statuary, ivory ornaments, clocks, garments -studded with precious stones; crowning all, the beautiful emerald idol -flashing with a molten mass of diamonds, sapphires and other gems. -This cross-legged statue of Buddha, one foot high and eight inches -wide at the knees, is of great value and antiquity. - -The kings and nobles of Siam spend large sums on their temples and -idols. There are between one and two hundred temples in the city of -Bangkok alone. Several cost one hundred thousand dollars, and it is -estimated that the Wat P’hra Keäu, with its lofty gilded roof, rich -carvings, fine paintings and floor paved with diamond-shaped bricks of -polished brass, cost nearly a million dollars. - -Such expensive temples and monstrous images are built not only to -impress and awe the people, but to make a large amount of merit. _Tam -boon_, or “merit-making,” is, after all, the sum and substance of -Siamese Buddhism. The words are on the lips of young and old, rich and -poor, almost every hour of the day. They are anxious to make all the -merit possible, believing that their pilgrimage through the forms of -animal life and the duration of their purgatorial existence in the -several Buddhist hells is the result of _Karma_――_i. e._ merit and -demerit. Speaking of the future, the Siamese always say, “_Tam boon, -tam kam_”――“according to merit or demerit.” - -The king makes merit when he builds a costly temple or goes on his -yearly tour to distribute presents among the priests of the royal -wats. The pauper makes merit when with a broom of small twigs he -sweeps the dead leaves from the temple-grounds. The old man makes -merit when with painful difficulty he urges his palsied limbs to the -wat, and there bows in the temple before an image of Buddha till his -forehead touches the floor. The housewife who takes the last mouthful -of rice from her hungry husband to feed some lazy priest makes merit. -The infant makes merit when the mother, holding its tiny hand in hers, -guides the fingers in forming the wax taper that is used in worship. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT TOWER OF THE PAGODA WAT CHEUG.] - -Pagodas, or sacred spires――detached pyramidal piles of solid masonry, -frequently reaching a great height――are always found in connection -with the Siamese temples. These are supposed to contain some relic of -Buddha, and are sacred to his memory. The most remarkable pagoda of -Siam is that in the extensive grounds of the Wat Cheug, opposite the -royal palace in Bangkok. Bell-shaped and about two hundred feet high, -every inch of its irregular surface is encrusted over with colored and -glazed ornamentation, consisting largely of grotesque human and animal -figures, while from each projection to the very needle-point of the -spire hang little bells, a tiny golden wing attached to their tongues -to catch the passing breeze, and all day long thousands of tinkling, -silvery voices, - - “As if a choir - Of golden-nested birds in heaven were singing,” - -fill the air with sweet, weird music. - -[Illustration: BUDDHIST PRIEST.] - -Each wat has also its chapel, or preaching-hall. On the feasts or -sacred days crowds of women flock to hear some favorite priest read -_Bana_. One day a missionary stopped to rest among the shady groves of -a wat, and, hearing the voice of one reading, he entered. Out of a -congregation of fifty he found only two men. This is what he saw: A -yellow-robed priest seated on his high pedestal in the centre, in one -hand a fan to keep his eyes from wandering to things carnal, in the -other a palm-leaf book, from which he read sentences of the Buddhist -scriptures, written in the Pali, in a monotonous tone, occasionally -adding an explanation in Siamese. Before him burned a wax taper. His -congregation, seated in a circle on the floor, reverently listened -with downcast eyes, their palms joined and heads bowed till the elbows -rested on the ground, though much of the service was in an unknown -tongue: “Blessed is he who heareth the law.” So, reverently listening -to the words spoken, they believe themselves blest, nor would they -consider the merit any greater if they understood the preacher. - -Occasionally, however, there are priests who preach intelligibly to -attentive hearers. Ordinary popular preaching is simply extracts from -the traditional life and transmigrations of the last Buddha. The facts -of his history are briefly, as set forth in the Buddhist writings, as -follows: - -Gautama, the last and greatest of the seven Buddhas, had appeared on -this earth at least five hundred and fifty times (working his way up -from the lowest forms of existence, and always exhibiting absolutely -self-denying charity) before he was finally born a son of the rajah of -Magadha. According to the Ceylon tradition, he would be nearly -contemporary with the prophet Daniel, as their sacred writings place -his death in 543 B. C. From this period the sacred era of Siam is -dated. This young prince fled from his royal father, and, forsaking -rank and wife and child, became first a hermit. Later he wandered, in -a course of open-air preaching, through the length and breadth of -India, and, Southern Buddhists claim, even to Ceylon. By the force of -his irresistible eloquence he founded a new sect. Fanatics of all -ranks, taking on themselves voluntary vows of chastity and poverty, -left their families to follow in his footsteps. He begged from door to -door, taught the vanity of life, the terrors of transmigration and of -the purgatorial hells, and claimed that his noble fourfold path was -the only salvation from this dizzy round of birth and death; that -Nirvana――or in Siamese _Nipan_――was the haven of final rest. He -therefore urged his disciples of all ages and ranks to turn from other -pursuits and devote themselves by a course of meditation, crucifixion -of desire and meritorious acts exclusively to this one object――the -attainment of Nipan. After forty-five years of such teaching it is -claimed he passed into Nipan. Henceforth, for centuries, he has been -held up as the Pure One (_Arahang_), and worshiped as the Buddha. -Hence the confession of faith of a devout Buddhist is, “I take refuge -in Buddha”――meaning that as the sage during all these hundreds of -births distinguished himself by a self-sacrificing charity and acts of -merit, denying and conquering all the natural appetites and desires, -so the disciple bases his system of morals and his hopes of the future -on the life and precepts of the founder. “Imitate Buddha; accept his -ideas of life; renounce family relations, property, the carnal desires -and passions,”――this is the one theme of Buddhist preaching. - -In Christian lands we speak of “the preaching of the cross;” so the -Buddhist, adopting the _wheel_ as symbolic of the weary rounds of -transmigration, speaks of “turning the wheel of doctrine” as most -expressive of the Buddhist idea of salvation――rest or Nipan. - -Heretofore, preaching-halls have been bare within, but the present -king has lately built a beautiful Gothic chapel after the most -approved modern style――stained glass windows, an altar, pews for the -congregation, and something that has the appearance of a grand organ, -with great pipes running to the ceiling, but, alas! a niche in each -pipe filled with a small idol, and a much larger one on the altar. -Still, the departure from old customs shows His Majesty’s desire for -improvement. - -Besides the preachings given in wat-chapels, private services are held -by the Siamese monks at houses of nobles or some wealthy citizens by -special request. The object is to give the host and his family an -occasion to make extra merit. - -Each wat has also its library, containing the sacred books or Buddhist -scriptures. These are in the immediate charge of the priests, and are -regarded as the most holy portion of the wat. You will certainly be -expected to remove your shoes at the door. Siamese libraries are not -what we associate with the word. The Wat P’hra Keäu library is matted -with silver wire. In the centre is a large pyramidal chest of ebony -inlaid with mother-of-pearl, answering for our shelves, where the -books are kept. Most libraries have plainer chests or closets much in -the same style. Their collection of sacred books forms a library it -would take many men to carry. When a Siamese understands that -Christianity is intended to supersede Buddhism, his tendency is to -despise the smallness of our Bible as compared with his own sacred -canon. Besides, he can produce no mean list of excellent moral -precepts, and thinks the miracles of Buddha no whit behind those of -the Bible. - -The Siamese received their sacred canon from Ceylon. This is the very -earliest compilation that history can point out. It was partly reduced -to writing, after being handed down orally for several generations, -about 93 A. D., and the whole was first compiled and fixed in writing -412 to 432 A. D. - -If on a visit to such a library our guide proves to be that _rara -avis_, an intelligent Buddhist priest of the reform party (among whom -the late king was the prominent leader), he would tell you, as one of -the head-priests explained to Mr. Caswell, “Here are two piles of -books. The first contains the instructions of Buddha; the second -contains the writings of eminent teachers of Buddhism who lived in -ancient times. The first pile our party receive as authority in -religion; the second we compare with the first; so far as it disagrees -we reject it.” In answer to an inquiry if they found much to reject in -the second pile, the priest said, “Yes, much,” and mentioned one whole -set of more than five hundred volumes rejected. - -Under the influence of these reformers, so far back as 1844, the king -of Siam despatched an embassy to Ceylon to make further religious -researches in that primitive nursery of their faith. These liberal -views continued to spread, following the introduction of printed and -scientific works by our missionaries; the more intelligent nobles and -priests discovered errors in the geography, geology, and especially -astronomy, which necessitated the discarding of much formerly held -sacred. Here was planted the germ of disintegration now busily at work -undermining this gigantic system of atheism. The confidence of many is -shaken in the ethical teachings of sacred books so full of -intellectual and moral despair. - -But examine this Buddhist collection: see how unlike our books. Here -is a bundle of palm-leaf slips from a foot to eighteen inches long and -two to three inches broad, filed by strings strung through each end. -Notice the richly-gilded edges. Do not these strange characters -recall the dots and dashes and curious hieroglyphics of our -telegraph-operators? These sacred writings are engraved with an iron -style, and black powder is rubbed in to make the impression distinct. -After finishing your examination the priest wraps them with reverent -care in silk or muslin and returns them to the central ark or closet -already described. - -Sometimes in the wat library studious priests are found sitting on the -floor, each with his book resting on a low reading-stool or desk -before him, but they will probably feign not to notice us. Some high -priests have fine private collections, including, of late years, -English and French standard works. - -Ordinary Siamese books are written on stiff paper prepared with black -paste to receive impressions from a stone pencil. These are about a -foot broad and several feet long, folded zigzag to form pages about -three inches deep. When one side is filled the sheet is turned and the -subject continued on the reverse side. Some of these books are fully -illustrated with colored plates. The characters are written from right -to left, and almost all Siamese composition, except letter-writing, is -metrical. Outside of the sacred writings the literature is meagre, -consisting mainly of chronicles of their own and neighboring -countries, dialogues, low plays and inferior romances――usually war or -love adventures borrowed from remote and largely fabulous chronicles -of their early history: the favorite topic of all is the mythological -exploits of the Hindoo god Rama. - -But a Siamese wat is not merely a place of worship; most of all it is -a monastery. You will find it worth while to glance at the dormitories -of the priests. There are often several hundred inmates in a large -wat. The ordinary priests and novitiates have usually rows of little -cells, almost bare of furniture except the coverlets and pillows and -mosquito-nets for sleeping. In others there are neat whitewashed brick -buildings scattered around the grounds, putting you in mind of little -English cottages. The houses of the abbot and prior are larger. If you -call, possibly their apartments may not seem in accord with the -primitive simplicity enjoined by the rules of their order on Buddhist -priests. Some head-priests now-a-days have foreign furniture, -pictures, clocks and other _articles de luxe_, and pride themselves on -owning a fairly representative modern library and scientific -instruments. - -Properly, a Buddhist monk possesses in his own right eight -articles――viz. three robes, a girdle, an alms-bowl, a razor, a needle -and a water-strainer, this last that he may not unwittingly in -drinking destroy animal life. All other articles accepted in charity -are supposed to be received on behalf of the chapter. The Siamese monk -must observe strict celibacy, refrain from all secular avocations and -eat no solid food after the sun has passed the meridian. Priests are -easily recognized by their yellow robes and shaven heads. In going -about they usually feign indifference to all temporal concerns by -walking with measured pace, apparently noticing nothing. - -There is no hereditary priesthood. Any male enters a wat at his -pleasure, and leaves it without reproach to return to secular life: if -married, however, he must be divorced before entering. Every man is -expected to spend more or less time in the priesthood, and according -to law no one can serve the government until he has done so. Little -boys are put into the wats as pupils at a very early age (for each wat -is more or less of a public school), and when they have learned to -read and write they are ready to put on the yellow robes; so they grow -up to manhood, and often to middle age, amid surroundings only -calculated to make them idle and frequently vicious men. - -There are certain special months for entering and for leaving the -priesthood. The shortest period is three months. During this portion -of the year the number is much larger, as many leave after a very -short stay. The ceremonies of ordination are simple, consisting in the -tonsure of the candidate, prayers repeated by the priest, bathing with -holy water and assuming the yellow robe――something like the old Roman -tunic in shape, with a scarf thrown over the shoulders. Such services -are accompanied by the distribution of largess to the priests and the -poor――but chiefly to the former――and often by prolonged feasting. To -defray the expenses of ordinations is considered an act of merit, and -every Siamese spends as much for this purpose as his means will allow. -Women make merit by weaving and staining the yellow robes freely -distributed on such occasions. - -It is the duty of priests to ordain others as priests; to consecrate -idols and temples; to assist in wedding and funeral rites; to read the -Pali hymns and prayers (of which he acquires at least a parrot -knowledge); and to instruct the boys entrusted to his supervision. -There are also the _Nains_, or novices, too young to take full orders. -Every superior priest has special disciples, who look to him for -counsel, prostrate themselves on entering his presence, and otherwise -evince profound respect, almost adoration. - -In Bangkok alone there are thousands of priests dependent on charity -for daily bread. The Buddhist code makes no distinction between prince -and peasant in the priesthood. All must eat only what has been given -in alms, and when in health each is expected to carry around the -alms-bowl. This is slung from the neck and covered with the robe, -except when alms are received. It is estimated that it costs Siam -twenty-five million dollars annually to keep up this immense army of -priestly mendicants and religious ceremonials. - -[Illustration: BUDDHIST PRIESTS GATHERING FOOD.] - -The majority of priests readily acknowledge mercenary motives for -assuming the yellow robe. “The wats are more comfortable than our -dwellings,” they say. “Disciples paddle our canoes; our food and -clothes are given us; we are not required to work. Before we became -priests the people looked upon us as vagabonds; now they almost -worship us.” Yet in most instances the only change is the shaven head -and yellow robe and the alms-bowl. Some Buddhist monks are devout, -spending their lives in wats, or in forests and caves as hermits, -meditating on the virtues of Buddha and striving to attain Nipan. Over -these exceptional studious and moral monks Buddhism doubtless exerts a -restraining influence, yet even such lives are dreary, and manifest -little zeal constraining to efforts for national reform. - -The ceremonial details of wat-life are monotonous. Monks rise at -daybreak. At about seven the streets of Bangkok are crowded with these -yellow-robed gentry paddled around with their rice-bowls from door to -door. At eight they return to breakfast in a large hall, which, with -the kitchen and its enormous rice-boilers, is worthy of a passing -look. The last meal of the day is taken before noon. Priests are -supposed to devote themselves to meditation and study, but the -majority are illiterate and often vicious――“idleness personified.” -About sunset, assembled for united prayer, their loud singsong drawl -can be heard some distance off. The beating of a drum closes the -wat-day. - -Each chapter is under the direction of a chief priest, and the larger -ones have a sort of second chief priest. Their authority is confined -to reproof, and in extreme cases to expulsion. They can only enforce -the rules of the order. - -Wats built by the royal family or nobility are called _Wat Hluang_, or -“royal wats.” The wats of the people are _Wat Ratsadom_. Church and -State are one. The king is supreme in religion as in the government, -and appoints two hierarchs――one for the north and one for the south. -The title of this high priest is Pra Sang Karat, and he resides in one -of the chief wats, and has no spiritual or temporal authority except -over the wats and monks. He has an assistant second only in rank. No -priest is qualified to ordain without a license from the Sang Karat. -Then come the Somdet Chows, from whom the head-priests of the royal -wats are chosen――the abbots of the great monasteries, I suppose we -would call them. The Tananookans, one of whom assists each -head-priest, are next in clerical rank. The head-priests of the common -people’s wats are called Sompans. Lastly come the mass of ordinary -priests, among whom there are Palats and other minor officers, who -take a certain rank above the ordinary brotherhood. The _Nains_, or -novitiates, are not included in the above classes, though they too don -the yellow robes, shave their heads and fast as their elders. A lad -must be at least eight years old and receive the consent of his -parents before becoming a priest. He usually begins his connection -with the wat as a pupil, living for some years under the care of some -priest who is a friend of the family. - -Worldly concerns connected with wats are in the hands of secular -attendants clad in white, who also perform the menial services about -the grounds and at funerals. We would call them sextons. - -Nuns are not numerous in Siam. The profession does not command -respect. The people look upon it as a more respectable mode of -begging. Those who take such vows are mostly poor old women, who wear -white and live in humble huts near, but not within, the wat-grounds. - -When the king pays his annual visit to the royal wats, on entering the -temple he takes off his shoes, then, lifting his hands containing the -offerings above his head, he bows low before the image of Buddha. He -concludes by making similar obeisance to the superior priests and -bestowing the customary gifts. The chief priests and monks sit unmoved -during the ceremony. - -No one can be long in Siam without being astonished at the large part -which the wat occupies as a social centre in the every-day life of the -people. The Siamese traveler rests in the salas. You meet a Siamese -woman and ask where she is going; the probability is she is on her -road to some temple to make merit with her offerings or by listening -to preaching. Go to the priests’ quarters, and you find there not only -a large proportion of the fathers, brothers and older sons, but mere -children of seven and eight years old. The bodies of the dead are -carried there to be burned. The people also frequently meet together -at the different temples to make feasts and give presents to their -priests. - -The wats outside of Bangkok, though the buildings are generally of -cheaper construction, occupy delightful sites and have extensive -grounds. Dr. McFarland, going to Petchaburee, stopped at the sala of a -country wat. “We found the grounds,” he says, “crowded with men and -boys in great excitement, evidently awaiting some unusual occurrence. -Presently boats began to arrive and unload their treasures of fruit -and depart, perhaps for more. Before our company had all finished -their breakfast we found it difficult to keep our place at the -landing. We were told that this was a _lakon_. This immense gathering -of fruits and other offerings is presented with ceremonies of music -and dancing to their god, and afterward the priests stow it away and -feast upon it for many days to come. Thus spending the day in -amusement, at the same time they make merit for the future. Some -things in this heathen ceremony reminded the missionary of the county -fairs he had attended in the West, crowds of people――men, women and -children――in their richest apparel, bringing their choicest fruit and -most valuable articles, but not for exhibition; they come to spend the -day in frolic and offer their fruits to a heathen deity.” - -The Siamese wat embodies “a theory which extracted and remodeled the -best ideas of ancient Brahmanism――a religion that has not only been -able to subsist for more than two thousand years, but which has drawn -within the meshes of its own peculiar church organization, and brought -more or less under the influence of its peculiar tenets, fully -one-third of the human race. Such a system ought to have enough -importance in our eyes to deserve something more than passing or -passive attention.” - -This study of a Siamese wat gives us the practical aspects of this -much-vaunted creed in the hands of the common people, proving that the -influence of these great centres of classic Buddhism hinders the -material prosperity and dwarfs the intellectual and moral development -of the nation. Allowing full credit for its good precepts, the visitor -who closely studies the actual outworkings of the Buddhist wat finds a -worship that degrades; alms-giving that floods the land with sturdy, -lazy beggars; a monastic system that encourages violation of the -sacred family ties; and in not a few instances hotbeds of vice for the -most promising youth of the kingdom. - -But Buddhism is losing ground in Siam. One of the earliest signs of -progress was a royal order years ago which reduced the vast number of -inmates of the wats. On the eve of war with Cochin-China the king, -wishing to draw a large number of soldiers, found multitudes had taken -refuge in the priesthood. A set of questions was therefore drawn up, -and notice given that all priests who failed to pass a satisfactory -examination were to be degraded and sent to war at the king’s -pleasure. Thousands were frightened from their cool, costly wats back -to their bamboo huts. It is said four hundred deserted a single wat in -less than a week. - -Moreover, in the late zeal for reform some principal festivals have -been given up. The wat-visitations are now mostly looked upon as -national gala-days for popular display, lively music, theatricals and -boat-races. The present building of temples and religious ceremonials -are far more largely from motives of pride and political expediency -than matters of faith. The present king and many of the younger nobles -are too enlightened to be devout Buddhists. - -Two significant signs may be noted to show the change. “We came,” says -a late traveler in Siam, “to the Wat Sah Kate pagoda, situated in a -vast enclosure, containing, after the usual arrangement, two or three -temples, with huge gilt images of Buddha within, a large building for -preaching, the dwellings of the priests and many pavilions for the use -of worshipers; but the grounds were in a very dilapidated state. The -king had recently turned adrift all the priests, several hundred of -them, to earn an honest living by hard work, and so the wat was closed -to the public.” The other fact is equally hopeful――a new interest on -the part of the rulers of the land in the education of the young. -Until recently the Siamese kings have spent comparatively little on -public works which are common to other countries of Asia――bridges, -roads, schools and hospitals――but lavished their treasures on the -wats. But a recent letter mentions the latest _in memoriam_ of a -Buddhist princess: “I wish much I could get you a good photograph of -the new school-building, the one that is being erected to the memory -of the late queen. As it approaches completion it is looking very -handsome, and might be a beautiful tribute to the memory of a queen of -a much more civilized country.” - -[Illustration: RUINS OF A TEMPLE AND STATUE OF BUDDHA AT AYUTHIA.] - - - - -PART III. - -HISTORICAL SKETCHES. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -_HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SIAM._ - - -Of immense advantage to the Buddhist faith, and equally an obstacle to -the development of any other religion, is the fact that Siamese -history, on being traced back beyond the middle of the fourteenth -century, becomes chaotic and obscure, affording abundant opportunity -to the priests to fabricate any ingenious theories which they may -desire. By a splendid piece of flattery they have taught the Siamese -sovereigns that they are lineal descendants of Buddha, and that the -people themselves have sprung from his first disciples. Thus ruler and -people are alike interested in the support of a religious system which -is identified with their own origin. Through all the early periods of -their history the miracles of Buddha are interspersed with a lavish -hand. Ancient matrimonial alliances of the Siamese princes with all -other leading monarchs of the world, and imposing embassies and -fabulous wars with neighboring countries, and no end of marvelous -legends of a mythological character, are also woven into the doubtful -narrative. - -The best historian that the country has had was the late king, father -of the present ruler, who, owing to a usurpation of his rightful -sovereignty by an elder and illegitimate brother, was led to spend -some years in a Buddhist monastery, where he gave himself to study and -became, under the circumstances, a rather remarkable scholar. -According to his authority, King Tuang as early as A. D. 457 -introduced the Siamese alphabet, which he handed over to a conclave of -Buddhist priests. His reign was distinguished by the possession of a -white elephant with black tusks!――a very important fact from a Siamese -point of view. - -Authentic history, however, begins with A. D. 1350, from which date -the succession of kings is directly traced. The ancient capital of -Ayuthia, which was then established, occupied the site of a still more -ancient ruined city. There had been frequent wars with the Laos and -the princes of Pegu, involving an obscure succession of dynasties. - -For about two hundred years the kingdom enjoyed peace, and Ayuthia -became a great and wealthy capital. In 1556, however, the king of Pegu -again conquered the country, though upon the death of the king the -Siamese princes, to whom the throne properly belonged, regained the -power. - -About the middle of the seventeenth century the country received a -great impulse in civilization from a Greek merchant, Constantine -Faulkon, who through skill and success in business and his general -public spirit, became a great favorite of the king and his court, and -who seems to have devoted himself to the introduction of European -improvements of every kind. He received from the king the highest -titles, with great power and influence. Under his direction forts were -built on the banks of the Menam and new palaces were erected. He also -built a church, the ruins of which still exist. He greatly improved -the canal system, which is almost as important to Bangkok and Lower -Siam as that of Holland is to it. Aqueducts were constructed also for -supplying the city with water from the neighboring mountains. At -length, becoming an object of envy on the part of Siamese officials, -he was assassinated. - -In 1759 the king of Burmah with an immense army laid siege to Ayuthia, -which, after two years, was compelled to surrender. The king was -slain, and a long struggle followed, after which, in 1767, the -Burmese, having gained complete possession of the country, appointed a -king of Peguan origin to hold the sceptre. By this time the country -was full of armed bands of outlaws, who, like the Saxons under the -Norman Conquest, proved irrepressible, and after the withdrawal of the -Burmese army anarchy bore sway. - - -AN AMBITIOUS CHINAMAN ON THE SIAMESE THRONE. - -Among the leaders of these robber-bands was a shrewd and valiant -Chinaman bearing the name of Pin Tat. This man, at the time -thirty-three years of age and of unbounded ambition, rose by a series -of military and civil promotions to the very highest influence. What -his sword could not achieve in battle his _finesse_ and bribery -completed. Betraying the high trusts reposed in him, and gathering to -his standard all available robbers and pirates, he was enabled to -dictate terms to the government until he gained possession of all the -northern districts. He then marched with a large force against the -Burmese governor of Bangkok, whom he surprised and put to death, -availing himself of his treasures as his “sinews of war.” - -He was now strong enough to overcome the Burmese at every point; and -so thoroughly did he succeed in ridding the country from their -thraldom that he won the gratitude of the people, who gladly favored -his assumption of royal authority. He displayed great genius in the -administration of affairs, colonized and rebuilt the devastated -districts of the country, and, profiting by a sanguinary war between -China and Burmah, conquered new territory on the north. It was during -his reign that the Siamese power was extended far down the Malay -Peninsula, whose governor he captured, and finally, through a -matrimonial alliance with his daughter, placed him in power as a -tributary. This remarkable Chinaman, after a reign of fifteen years -under the title of Phya-Jak, sank into a state of melancholy, and was -assassinated in 1782. - -In the early part of the present century the English endeavored to -negotiate a treaty with Siam, but with little success, and it was not -until 1826 that negotiations in that direction were crowned with -success. It was soon after that the first Protestant missions were -established. We find Dr. Gutslaf in Bangkok in 1828, where he finished -the translation of the New Testament into Siamese. In 1830 he -revisited Siam, and translated a part of the Scriptures into the -languages of Cambodia and the Laos. The American Baptists founded -their mission to the Chinese in Siam soon after. The Presbyterian -mission was founded in 1840, and that of the American Board (since -discontinued) in 1850. - -The Roman Catholics had gained a footing previous to 1780, but in that -year they were expelled on pain of death. They gradually reappeared. -In 1851 the illegitimate brother of the late king, who had usurped his -power as related above, died, and the rightful prince, Chao Phra, -ascended the throne under the name of Somdet Phra. His taste for -learning led him also to adopt a more enlightened policy with respect -to other nations. The French Catholic bishop Pallegoix at once -addressed to him a letter of congratulation, and presented him with a -portrait of Napoleon III., then President of the French Republic. In -return for this courtesy the king revoked the decree of banishment -against the Catholics, and in 1852 sent voluntary messengers to -Napoleon and to the pope. To the latter he sent an autograph letter -_written in English_. At the same time this enlightened king employed -an English governess to instruct his children. The progressive -character of the present king is undoubtedly due in part to the -influences under which his education was conducted. - -The French have continued to exert considerable influence, perhaps the -English still more, while for the Americans the king has expressed his -respect more fully than for any others. - -Not one half century ago Siam was sealed against the entrance of all -foreigners, whether as traders or missionaries. To-day she is in -treaty relation with all Christian countries, and the present king -desires that these treaty relations shall be most faithfully observed. -In the city of Bangkok there are large business-houses conducted by -foreign merchants. The flags of all countries float over the city. -Steam rice-mills are developing rice-culture: steam saw-mills are -creating a large trade in valuable lumber. Foreigners are also -beginning to erect steam-mills in other parts of the land. Good -inducements are offered to foreigners to enter the various departments -of trade, and full protection is given. - -The king of Siam has been classed among the most humane and liberal of -heathen monarchs. He has manifested his desire in many ways for the -improvement of his country and people. Near his palace in Bangkok may -be found a large substantial building known as the “Royal Mint,” -furnished with improved machinery from Europe. It furnishes beautiful -copper coins, a good substitute for the little shells and pieces of -lead used as money a few years ago; also handsome silver coins, a -decided improvement on the round, bullet-shaped silver coins of the -last reign. Near this mint may be found comfortable barracks for the -royal soldiers, and near this the Royal Museum, containing much of -interest from the countries of the world. This institution has an -educational influence, for its doors are open a few days in each year -to all the people in the kingdom. - -The king has also short telegraph-lines, and is now surveying and -negotiating for telegraphic communication with the outside world. A -line is proposed over to British Burmah, and another over to Saigon in -French Cochin-China. - -The king has also issued an order for a postal system [since carried -into effect]. In the mandate are these words: “His Majesty the king -observes that the commerce of the capital and provinces of Siam is -greatly in excess of former times, and that whatever is a means of -advancing the happiness and prosperity of the people will tend to the -national glory. His Majesty has determined to foster the commerce and -welfare of the people, that they shall be ever progressive.” Orders -have been issued for directories, numbers on houses, etc., etc. We may -therefore hope that Siam will soon be in the postal union of the world -and abreast with the age. - -In 1882, Siam had its centennial celebration of the establishment of -Bangkok as capital. The king in his annual speech, made the previous -October, said: “The exhibition will be given so that the people may -observe the difference between the methods used to earn a living one -hundred years ago and those now used, and see what progress has been -made, and note the plants and fruits useful for trade and the improved -means of living. We believe this exhibition will be beneficial to the -country.” - -The king also desires the education of Siam’s people, as manifest in -his establishing a college under the guidance of one of our -missionaries as minister of public instruction. A general educational -system may be expected. - - -THE BANGKOK CENTENNIAL. - -Miss Mary Hartwell of Bangkok describes the centennial anniversary of -the establishment of the present dynasty and of that city as the -capital. These two events were celebrated by an exhibition in which -was shown the progress made during the century in the various arts and -manufactures: - -“Nothing in the late Siamese Exposition was more significant than its -school-exhibit. The Royal College was solicited to make an exhibit -representing the work done in the school. This consisted chiefly of -specimens of writing in Siamese and English, translations and -solutions of problems in arithmetic, the school-furniture, the -text-books used, and the various helps employed in teaching, such as -the microscope, magnets, electric batteries, etc. The Siamese mind is -peculiarly adapted to picking up information by looking at things and -asking questions, and it is believed that this exhibit will not only -enhance the reputation of the college, but give the Siamese some new -ideas on the subject of education. - -[Illustration: ATTACHÉ OF SIAMESE EMBASSY: COURT COSTUME IN 1883.] - -“Miss Olmstead and I, together with our assistant, Ma Tuen, have been -training little fingers in fancy-work, or rather overseeing the -finishing up of things, to go into the exhibition. April 25 we placed -our mats, tidies, afghans, rugs, cushions, needle-books, edgings, -work-bags and lambrequins in the cases allotted to our school in the -Queen’s Room, and on the 26th we were again at our post as exhibitors -to receive His Majesty the king and give him our salutations upon his -first entrance at the grand opening. While we were looking for him in -one direction he suddenly entered from another, followed by his -brothers and other members of his court and the consular dignitaries. -We did not see him until he had walked up the long and magnificent -hall and was within half a dozen paces of us. He was dressed in a -perfectly-fitting suit of navy-blue broadcloth, without any gaudy -trappings, and never did he wear a more becoming suit. His face was -radiant with joy, and his quick, elastic step soon brought him to us. -He uttered an exclamation of pleasure at seeing us there, shook our -hands most cordially, took a hasty survey of our exhibits, and then -cried out with boyish enthusiasm, ‘These things are beautiful, mem; -did you make them?’――‘Oh no,’ I responded; ‘we taught the children, -and they made them.’――‘Have you many scholars?’ was his next -question.――‘About thirty-one,’ I answered. Turning again to the cases, -he exclaimed emphatically, ‘They are beautiful things! and I am coming -back to look at them carefully――am in haste now.’ And off he went to -look at the other unviewed departments. Since then we see by the paper -published in Bangkok that His Majesty has paid the girls’ school of -Bangkok the high compliment of declaring himself the purchaser of the -collection, and has attached his name to the cases. - -“The centennial is voted a success by all. There are fifty-four -departments, and each is handsomely arranged, reflecting great credit -upon the Siamese. The Queen’s Room is the richest and grandest of all. -It is devoted to the royal jewels――that is, all such as are owned and -worn by the queen and princesses; clothing made of gold-lace cloth and -gold-embroidered cloth of heavier but fine texture; embroidery on -satin, such as cushions, curtains and bed-spreads; embroidery in -worsteds; vessels of gold, silver and a combination of gold and -copper, fine carved work in ivory and artificial flowers of gold and -silver. The royal jewels are arranged on a pyramid about ten feet high -and shut in by a glass cover. The whole is placed under a pagoda of -bright blue, trimmed with white, which spreads out over it, but does -not hide the jewels. The latter consist of rings, anklets, bracelets, -ear-jewels and necklaces. The collection of these diamonds, emeralds -and other precious stones is valued at five million dollars, to say -nothing of the gold lunch-baskets eighteen inches in height and as -much or more in circumference, the solid gold soup-dishes and ladles, -the tea-pots, betel-trays, meat-dishes and a thousand other things -made of the same precious materials, and many of silver also. This -magnificence is beyond description in such narrow limits as a letter. -Scarlet and gold are freely mingled in cloth, and everything is -gorgeous that meets the eye in that room. The exhibition buildings -radiate from a high domed theatre in the central part of the grounds, -and these again have halls crossing their extremities, in the form of -our Capitol. The Queen’s Room and the one adjoining, decorated -constantly with fresh-cut flowers (under the supervision of the -queen’s sister, herself also a wife of the king), are the only rooms -enclosed with substantial teak-wood boards alternating with ornamental -glass windows, the whole forming nicely-finished and beautiful walls. -The second king’s department is next in beauty of finish, and then -come those of the highest princes. All have vied with each other in -their attempt to make the finest show. On Friday preceding the opening -the king dedicated a monument to the founder of the present dynasty, -and one to some other dead man (I forget his name), and they had a -wonderful procession. The king was borne in state on a royal litter, -and was dressed in his suit of gold-cloth and wore his crown of gold -and diamonds. He looked just like an idol. He had to sit so erect and -still, he appeared almost as motionless as the images you see in the -pictures of the idol gods, except that with his left hand he dipped -silver coins out of a bowl of solid gold which was fixed on the post -of the litter and threw them broadcast with his right hand at -intervals. How the children and common people did struggle to obtain -those little coins! The procession was made up of soldiers from the -cavalry, artillery and infantry, and there were also many bands of -soldiers equipped with the spear, the battle-axe, the bow and arrow, -and all sorts of ancient weapons such as were used a hundred years -ago. I think that was a proud day for the king, but if I could judge -from his face, the opening day of the Centennial Exhibition was the -proudest, happiest day of his life. His face beamed with joy, and -every word, look and movement denoted keen satisfaction with all his -eyes beheld. We are praying that good results may follow――far better -than His Majesty anticipated.” - - -RECENT EVENTS. - -[From the _Siam Weekly Advertiser_, September 22, 1883.] - -“His Majesty, the king of Siam, has graciously responded to the appeal -in behalf of the Netherlands India sufferers [from the volcanic -eruptions and earthquakes in Java] by sending a telegraphic despatch -of sympathy to the governor-general and a donation of $4800. Her -Majesty, the queen of Siam, has likewise most graciously given a -donation for the same purpose of $4200. - -“The line of telegraph from Bangkok to Saigon in French Cochin-China, -recently completed, which on the 16th of July last put Siam in -immediate communication with the rest of the world, is working most -successfully, as is also the local mail system, which this progressive -ruler has just established in the capital of his dominions. Of these -he speaks in his royal speech in reply to the congratulations tendered -him on his thirtieth birthday, September 21, 1883: - -“… ‘This year has been especially marked by the opening of telegraphic -communication _viâ_ Saigon with Europe and the world. We are well -pleased by the energy with which our commissioners and the provincial -officers labored in erecting this line, and we gladly take occasion to -thank the government of French Cochin-China, the consulate of France -at Bangkok and the French engineers who assisted in its construction. - -“‘Our commissioners and provincial officers have also with great -rapidity set up a line to the frontier of Tavoy, and when the British -portion is completed, next season, we shall be doubly linked to the -telegraph-lines pervading the world. - -“‘The post-office now delivers letters with regularity throughout the -capital and its suburbs. The use made of it has surprisingly exceeded -our expectations, as we did not think that Siamese would write so many -letters. We are now most desirous to extend the postal service -throughout Siam to the great advantage of trade and good government, -and when that is done we hope, as invited by the postmaster-general of -Germany, to extend our correspondence through the world by entering -the postal union.’” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -_MISSIONARY LADIES IN THE KING’S PALACE._ - - -Paint to your fancy a village of curious Oriental houses, with a high, -thick wall, three miles in circuit, surrounding it. In this village, -or miniature city, are the king’s quarters. Here are temple-grounds -with their temples and idols and all their rich adornings, whither -people of many generations have gone to worship at shrines which their -own hands have made. Here are the dwellings of the king’s wives and -the residences of the princesses, old and young, who cannot be allowed -to marry beneath their royal rank. Each lady has a separate house and -has her retinue of servants――all women. There is also a market, -conducted entirely by women. The census of the dwellers in this palace -was once taken, and it amounted to three thousand females. This -included the king’s wives, princesses with their servants, the -market-women and the female officers of the court. - -In 1851 the priest-prince came to the throne. He was the son of a -queen, and he looked upon his older brother (the son of an inferior -wife, and who had gained possession of the throne) as a usurper. Rumor -had it that he entered the priesthood that he might avoid bowing down -before his brother the king. However this may be, he assumed the -yellow robes and shaven head and entered a wat, where he gained the -eminence of high priest. There he remained during his brother’s reign. -In the wat he gave himself up to study, in which he made great -proficiency, considering his circumstances. In his brother’s reign the -Christian missionaries were kept under strict surveillance, and were -not allowed to obtain homes anywhere in the kingdom excepting in -Bangkok, the capital. The priest-prince frequently visited them in -their homes, and became familiar with their work and learned the -object of their coming to Siam. He took up the study of the English -language, and for a time employed the Rev. Mr. Caswell, one of the -missionaries, as teacher, giving him in turn the privilege of -preaching in his wat-grounds. I recall some of his visits to us. One -evening he was attracted by the picture of a tree which I had -carefully drawn with my pencil while in America, and which had been -beautifully touched up by my accomplished teacher. It hung upon the -dark teak-wood wall of our drawing-room. He seemed surprised that with -the hand and a mere pencil a picture could be made so much like a fine -engraving. We gave him the picture. One night he came to one of our -mission-homes where there was a prayer-meeting. He remained until it -was over, and, accepting a hymn-book, followed the words of the hymn -sung. - -He was attracted by the word “redemption,” and when the prayers were -over he said to one near him, “Redemption? What is it?” It was a new -English word to him, and he wished to know its meaning, but the way he -put the question seemed striking: “_Redemption? What is it?_” May each -one who reads this know experimentally what _redemption_ is! - -Now, these years in the wat, when the prince could spend his time in -study and improve his mind by mingling with the good and true, both in -books and out of them, prepared him for a great advance when he came -to the throne. The courtiers and nobles of the kingdom determined his -succession, and when his brother passed away his yellow robes were -laid aside for the robes of the prince and he was borne to the king’s -quarters. - -[Illustration: THE LATE FIRST KING AND QUEEN.] - -When his coronation was over and he was firmly seated in power he -ordered an invitation which surprised us all. Missionary ladies were -invited to go to his palace and teach his royal household in the -English language. We considered this a providence which could not be -passed lightly, although we could not expect these ladies, so -accustomed to easy leisure, to make much progress in a language so -difficult as the English. - -It was decided that Mrs. Bradley of the American Missionary -Association, Mrs. Smith of the Baptist mission, and Mrs. Mattoon of -the Presbyterian mission, should commence this unique work. They -arranged for each to go to the palace two days in the week. These -visits were continued for about three years, and in pleasant harmony -did this trio of ladies pursue their work. - -The palace is on the left bank of the beautiful river Menam. Near the -bank of the river is a large, curiously-roofed open house. From our -boats we ascend a flight of steps and enter it. Passing through its -spacious area, we go into an avenue with high, thick walls, in which -are heavy gates. At the end of this avenue we come to the great heavy -front gate of the palace. Inside are open salas, with platforms and -screens, where the gatekeeper (an elderly woman) and a company of -women and children are assembled every day. - -Our appointments were all in order. A female officer, Chow Roon Tum -Nuk Mai, had been ordered by the king to prepare for our reception. At -the river-house we were met by an elderly servant, who received our -basket of books and whatever we had to carry, and led us through the -windings of the way to our appointed place of teaching――through the -river-house, through the avenue mentioned, through the palace-gate, -through a wat-ground, by a market-place, and through narrow streets to -our teaching-hall. Here were assembled the king’s young wives and the -princesses of the blood. Curiosity and a desire to please the king -brought them together, and lessons in English were made the order of -the hour. The wives of the king selected for English study were -pretty, bright young girls, worthy of a far better and happier fate -than they could possibly find in the harem of any king. Some of the -princesses were fine, noble-looking women, who comforted themselves in -their lonely lives by reflecting that they were not obliged to share a -husband’s love with scores of others. - -As was expected, these royal ladies dropped away from the English -class, and ere long none were left excepting a few young wives of the -king who were ambitious to please His Majesty and to be able to -converse with him in English. As the ladies left the English class, -they wished us to visit them in their homes; which we did, taking with -us our Christian books in Siamese, which some of them were fond of -reading. I remember a servant of one of the princesses who eagerly -read our books, and would give us a full account of what she had read -in one book before receiving another. - -The little English class was continued, and books and maps were -procured for its persevering members. They made commendable progress, -though often interrupted by fêtes and festivals and play-days. One of -them one day asked me with seriousness what could be done to make the -king young. On the spur of the moment I replied, “Oh, have him advance -in knowledge and goodness; that will keep him young.” The answer, so -unpremeditated, pleased the young wife. I think she whispered it in -the ear of the king, to his great satisfaction and delight, for he had -a very homely as well as old face. - -The king was called Chon Chewitt (“lord of life”), and woe betide the -one who would dare to cross his will! One day I was conversing with -these young wives, when one of them whispered, “Hush! hush!” I -inquired the reason, and she significantly pointed toward the king’s -quarters and drew her hand across her neck, as much as to say, “To -converse on such a subject might displease His Majesty, and he could -take off our heads.” I was credibly informed that he ordered one of -his wives to be put in chains and in prison for forgetting to wear a -certain ring which he had ordered to be worn on a certain day. One of -our pupils, a sweet-faced young girl, stole the king’s spectacles, and -sold them――to increase her spending-money, I suppose. I asked to be -led to her quarters, thinking I might be of some service to her. I -went, and upon arriving at the place, a sort of enclosed court with -open rooms, I inquired for her, and her pleasant face peeped out from -behind a screen, where she was confined, and returned my salutations. -She seemed totally untroubled by her situation; its commonness made -the disgrace unfelt, I suppose. Presently a female officer passed and -turned a stern eye upon me, and I quietly left, seeing that I could be -of no service there. - -The king we seldom saw. There was to be a procession on the river one -day, and His Majesty, with the ladies of the court, was to go to the -river’s edge to view it. The ladies invited me to accompany them, and -I did so, and sat with them at some distance from the king. His -Majesty recognized me among them, and called me to him. I approached -him as I would approach the President of the United States. He -received me with politeness and pleasant salutations, and handed me -the glass with which he was viewing the procession. I received it from -his hand, and with it watched for a while the pageant as it slowly -moved over the river. I then returned the glass, bade His Majesty -adieu and returned to my seat among the princesses. For their sakes I -was glad of this little episode, for in those days Siamese etiquette -required inferiors to prostrate themselves upon hands and knees, with -faces to the earth, before superiors. In this position their -salutation was to place their hands together, touch them to the -forehead and bow to the floor or earth. In this painful attitude even -the princes and nobles always appeared before His Majesty, and the -custom prevailed throughout all the ranks. The elbows and knees of the -king’s courtiers were hard and callous, as they were obliged so often -to be in attendance upon His Majesty. - -One day I was visiting a very friendly princess, a daughter of the -late king. She was delighted with our calls. On this occasion I found -her lame and sore. It was at the time when the young queen was sick -unto death. Under such circumstances the king deigns to be present in -the sick chamber, and this princess was one among the number called to -wait upon His Majesty. In carrying out his orders they were obliged to -crawl upon their hands and knees, and her knees were all blistered by -the day’s waiting. I could not refrain from saying, “Why, we are not -made like cats and dogs! We are made to walk upright.” This remark -pleased her, and after thinking a few moments she said, “How true! and -how much easier and nicer to walk upright!” But, thinking a few -moments more, she said, “But, ah, it cannot be done here.” Sure -enough, such is the power of custom that it could not be done then and -there, but influences were at work which would gradually undo those -hard, servile customs. When those princesses saw me walk upright in -the presence of the king they would naturally think, “Why are we not -permitted to do the same?” and thus one little step is taken to remove -the shackles. - -One day, as our attendant was leading me to our teaching-hall, we were -near meeting a lady of high rank with her long train of servants. Now, -I did not require my attendant to crouch before me, and she would -naturally infer that with her I would prostrate myself in the presence -of this lady of rank. So, touching my arm, she warned me of the -approach of the royal personage, expecting me to meet her as an -inferior and prostrate myself before her. “Oh,” I said, “I am an -American; our customs are different from yours.” I had met this lady -before, and she knew me and met me with a pleasant salutation, while -my attendant and all the train of maidens were down to the earth in a -moment. Now, the natural thought among these prostrate ones would be, -“Here is a person who stands on a footing with our great ones, yet she -does not require us to prostrate ourselves before her.” Little by -little are such miserable customs worn away by persistent Christian -effort. - -Our visits to the houses of the different ladies of the palace became -more and more extended. These houses were not the clean, sweet, -pleasant homes of an intelligent Christianity. Only a few of them had -much that was attractive about them. In many of them flowers were -cultivated, and they wrought in fancy-work. For their gala-days their -servants would bring in large quantities of flowers, which they would -turn into fanciful forms to grace the festive occasions. - -One day I was seated with a princess upon an elevated platform in her -court. She and her maidens were at work with artificial flowers, and a -cup of paste and vessels with the parts of the flowers and leaves were -scattered here and there among them. All at once a pet monkey which -had become loose marched to the stage and suddenly appeared among us. -Undaunted, he walked about, put his nose into the cup of paste and -tipped it over, passed his paws over the delicate parts prepared for -the complete flowers and made himself master of the situation. I sat -in mute consternation, while the princess and her maidens seemed as -quiet as if no monkey were there. By and by he marched around to a -place where a servant could secure him, and she made him fast. I asked -why they allowed him to march around their work and commit such -depredations. “Ah,” said one of them, “if we had attempted to take him -then, he would have bitten us and would have made greater havoc among -our flowers; better to wait till he works himself into a place where -he can be secured without danger.” - -I have kept one of the sisters of the king very pleasantly in memory. -Her bearing was noble and lady-like, and with a fair opportunity she -would have graced the palace of any king. She read our Christian -books, and seemed interested in them. One day we had a long -conversation upon the Christian religion. She remarked that my -religion was good and that her religion was good, and she spoke of the -deeds of merit she had done. “Yes,” I replied, “wherein they agree -they are both alike good, but in some things they do not at all agree. -In the Christian religion we believe in one God, the great Jehovah, -who created all things and who is from everlasting to everlasting. In -the Buddhist religion you have made a human philosopher a god. The -great Jehovah has forbidden the worship of idols, but your country is -full of them, and the name of the true God is taken in vain. The great -Jehovah has commanded us to set apart one day in seven for his -worship, but in your religion this is not observed. We believe in the -great eternal One described in our Bible, who made these beautiful -flowers and made our wonderful bodies with their spirit-life――who -created the heavens above us and the earth beneath us and all things. -This great eternal One has given his Son to be a Redeemer to all who -will come to him and repent of sin. These things make the Christian -religion different from yours.” The dear lady thoughtfully replied, -“These things I must look into; I have not thought of them before.” I -sincerely hope she did look into them, and was brought to reverence -and adore the great Jehovah through the merits of Jesus Christ. - -We did not rudely intrude the tenets of our religion upon them, but -always answered kind inquiries and freely gave our opinions. In this -way they would frequently be led to acknowledge the superiority of our -customs over theirs. In the matter of polygamy many high in station in -their quiet moments, in private conversation, would acknowledge it to -be a very bad thing, and the king seemed happy in saying that he had -fewer wives than any of his predecessors. When Christianity reigns in -full power this giant evil will be for ever banished from our world. -By persistent Christian effort, with law on its side, may we not hope -that it will be speedily driven from our own dear country for ever? - -After three years, during which time our visits to the palace were -kept up quite regularly, they came to a close. One day Mrs. Smith -started for her day at the palace. Our attendant was not at the -river-house to meet her; but at other times she had not been there, -and we found our own way in the palace-grounds; so Mrs. Smith -proceeded to the palace-gate. But the gatekeeper was not to be seen, -nor any of her company, and Mrs. Smith left. We all felt that this -probably meant that our teaching in the palace must cease. But as it -seemed possible that the gate-women might be away attending some -festival for the time, I went the next day, to make sure. There was no -attendant at the river-house, and as I passed up the avenue for the -palace-gate a Siamese woman stepped into the avenue from a side gate -just before me. The moment she saw me she darted back, plainly showing -that an order had been given, and that it was understood. I proceeded -to the gate where we had so often passed in and out. As I drew near -there was a rustle and a rush to hide from my presence. I called out -pleasantly in Siamese, asking if they would not open the gate for me, -but no answer came excepting the suppressed laughter of some young -girls hiding behind the screens. We quietly accepted the evident -intention of the king, and our teaching in the palace ceased. - -It was thought that some of the ladies were becoming interested in -Christianity, but of this we could not be sure. Some years after this -time His Majesty advertised for an English teacher for his children, -with the strict proviso that the Christian religion should have no -place in the teaching. To break from settled customs might cost him -his throne. Worldly policy! How many with high Christian intelligence -it has kept from the right and true! Need we wonder at this heathen -king? With great infirmities he had some noble traits. He owed more to -the Christian religion than he would be willing to allow. When Mr. -Mattoon was about leaving Siam he went to the palace to bid the king -adieu. In the interview His Majesty acknowledged his belief in the -true God――the “Supreme Agency,” as he termed it. He has passed away -since then, and his son is now on the throne. Many happy changes have -been wrought out, and we constantly pray that the great and best -change may come――that every idol may be cast away and loyalty to the -great Jehovah may be written upon every heart in Siam. - - -TEACHING IN THE PALACE OF THE KING OF SIAM IN 1880. - -The following letter from Maa Tuan, matron of the girls’ -boarding-school at Bangkok, was partially translated from the Siamese -and partially dictated to one of the missionary ladies. She is a most -efficient, earnest Christian worker, a “living witness” among these -people. She has been a Christian for years, her father being literally -the “first-fruits” of Presbyterian effort in Siam. - - -MAA TUAN’S LETTER. - -A nobleman, the brother of Koon Lin, a former pupil in the school, who -is now, with her sister Juan, in the royal palace――the latter being a -wife of His Majesty the king――asked me to come to the palace and teach -his sisters during the two months of vacation. - -I lived in the royal harem for one month, and I think it will interest -your friends to have me tell you some of the things I saw while there. -It is said that within the palace-walls there are about one thousand -women, wives, slaves and servants, as no man is permitted to live -there except His Majesty the king. I should judge that about thirty of -these women are wives of the king. Many of these wives, with their -servants, live in a long brick building which stands near the palace. -Eight of the king’s half-sisters and the only daughter of the regent -of the Belur are the highest in position, and their rooms in the harem -are more richly and beautifully furnished than those of the other -wives. The rooms of the king’s favorite, Peahong Sawang (one of his -half-sisters), are three in number. The first is trimmed with pink -silk, another blue and the third green. Even the windows and door are -colored, and all is very beautiful to the eye. - -Peahong Sawang is the mother of the oldest son of His Majesty, who is -now about two years of age. To be the mother of a royal son is quite -an honor in the harem, and it is only male offspring of the king, _by -one of his sisters_, that can inherit the throne. - -I lived in the harem with the women, and saw and talked with them all -very often. They were quite friendly, though they knew that I had -given up their religion, and would not bow to the image of Buddha, -which they worshiped every night, offering flowers and burning of -fragrant wood. These women sit in idleness all the day long, unless -sent for to go to the palace. They often tried to persuade me to -return to Buddhism, giving me one of their books to read instead of my -Bible, which I had with me, and making sport of me, saying, ‘Ah, you -were once in the light, but now you are walking in the darkness.’ But -my heart did not mind what they said; I told them of the religion of -Jesus, and, going by myself, I prayed to Jesus to help them. My -business there was to teach Koon Lin and Koon Juan to translate -Siamese into English. Both these girls were pupils of Mrs. Dr. House, -and speak very lovingly of her. Koon Lin still has the English Bible -Mrs. House gave her, and translated from it every day. She said that -when she was in school she believed its teachings, but now she was -indifferent, it was all so different in the palace. - -The police who have charge of the royal harem are women, and night and -day close watch is kept that no one goes out or comes in without their -permission. Any one not known to the guards is searched at the door of -entrance. Every afternoon at four o’clock the gates of the palace are -locked. On my way to the market near I could often see the king as he -walked in his royal palace, which is higher than other buildings. In -the courtyard below the native children played noisily, which the king -did not seem to mind. This is very different from the old king, before -whom all must bow or fall on their faces. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -_CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY THE SUPREME KING OF SIAM._ - - -The Siamese monarchy is not hereditary――that is, not in the sense that -that term is understood in Europe. There is what is called the -_Senabodee_, or royal counselors, consisting of the chief ministers of -state, who during the life of the king are merely silent counselors, -but upon his death their power becomes manifest, and upon them -devolves the responsibility of selecting a successor and governing the -kingdom until such successor is chosen. The successor must be a prince -of the realm, but not necessarily the eldest son of the late king; -indeed, not necessarily a son of his at all. - -The death of the late king occurred about nine o’clock P. M. The prime -minister was immediately summoned to the palace, and convened the -_Senabodee_, and before midnight the succession was determined and -everything going on smoothly. They chose in this instance the eldest -son of the late king, Somdetch Chowfa Chulalangkorn, a boy about -sixteen years old. - -His coronation took place on Wednesday, November 11, 1868, being the -day decided upon by the Brahman astrologers as the one most -propitious. At this coronation there was a slight innovation upon the -usual Siamese custom. No European had ever before witnessed the -coronation ceremonies of any king of Siam. The late king, after his -coronation, wrote a private note to some of his European friends -stating that he would have been glad to have had them present, but -“state reasons forbade the presence of foreigners.” - -[Illustration: SOMDETCH CHOWFA CHULALANGKORN.] - -The number of Europeans present at the coronation proper of the -present king were few, consisting of the consuls of the different -treaty powers with their suites, the officers of H. B. M.’s gunboat -Avon and a few others. The writer held at the time the seals of the -United States consulate, and was the only representative of our -government in the kingdom, and consequently received an invitation, -which might not have been accorded to him as a mere missionary. The -company of Siamese present was equally small, consisting only of the -chief princes and nobles of the kingdom. The hour named was six A. M., -but owing to some delay it was nearly eight when we passed into a -small triangular court facing one of the doors of the inner -audience-hall. In front of the door of the hall stood an elevated -platform richly gilded, and upon that platform was placed a very large -golden basin. Within that basin was a golden tripod or three-legged -stool. Over the platform was a quadrangular canopy, and over the -canopy was the nine-storied umbrella, tapering in the form of a -pagoda. Over the centre of the canopy was a vessel containing -consecrated water, said to have been prayed over nine times and poured -through nine different circular vessels before reaching the top of the -canopy. This water is collected from the chief rivers of Siam and at a -point above tidal influence, and is constantly kept on hand in -reservoirs near the temples in the capital. In the vessel was placed a -tube or siphon, representing the pericarp of the lotus-flower after -the petals have fallen off. - -[Illustration: HALL OF AUDIENCE, PALACE OF BANGKOK.] - -At a flourish of crooked trumpets resembling rams’ horns the king -elect descended from the steps of the hall, arrayed in a simple -waist-cloth of white muslin, with a piece of the same material thrown -over his shoulders, and took his seat upon the tripod in the basin. A -Brahman priest approached him and offered him some water in a golden -lotus-shaped cup, into which he dipped his hand and rubbed it over his -head. This was the signal for the pulling of a rope and letting loose -the sacred water above in the form of a shower-bath upon his person. -This shower-bath represents the _Tewadas_, or Buddhist angels, sending -blessings upon His Majesty. A Buddhist priest then approached and -poured a goblet of water over his person. Next came the Brahman -priests and did the same. Next came the chief princes, uncles of the -king; next two aged princesses, his aunts. The vessels used by these -princes and princesses were conch-shells tipped with gold. Then came -the chief nobles, each with a vessel of different material, such as -gold, silver, pinchbeck, earthenware; then, last of all, the prime -minister with a vessel of iron. This finished the royal bath. - -He then descended from the stool in a shivering state, and was -divested of his wet clothes and arrayed in regal robes of golden cloth -studded with diamonds. In the south end of the audience-hall was an -octagonal throne, having sides corresponding to the eight points of -the compass. He first seated himself on the side facing north, passing -around toward the east. In front of each side of the throne was -crouched a Buddhist and a Brahman priest, who presented him with a -bowl of water, of which he drank and rubbed some on his face. At each -side they repeated to him a prayer, to which he responded. I was too -far off to hear all, but the following is said to be a translation of -it: - -_Priest._ “Be thou learned in the laws of nature and of the universe.” - -_King._ “Inspire me, O Thou who wert a law unto thyself!” - -_Priest._ “Be thou endowed with all wisdom and all acts of industry.” - -_King._ “Inspire me with all knowledge, O Thou the enlightened!” - -_Priest._ “Let mercy and truth be thy right and left arms of life.” - -_King._ “Inspire me, O Thou who hast proved all truth and mercy!” - -_Priest._ “Let the sun, moon and stars bless thee.” - -_King._ “All praise to Thee, through whom all forms are conquered!” - -_Priest._ “Let the earth, air and water bless thee.” - -_King._ “Through the merit of thee, O Thou conqueror of death!” - -He was then conducted to the north end of the hall, and was seated -upon another throne. The insignia of royalty were then presented to -him. They were handed to him by his uncle, Prince Chowfa Malaa Mala. -First came the sword, then the sceptre, then two massive gold chains -in a casket, which he suspended around his shoulders. Then came the -crown, which he put on his own head, and at that instant the royal -salute proclaimed him king under the title of Prabat Somdetch Pra -Paramendr Maha Chulalang Korn Kate Klou Yu Hua. Then came the golden -slippers, the fan, the umbrella, two large massive rings set with huge -diamonds, which he placed on each of his forefingers. Then one of each -of the Siamese weapons of war were handed to him, which he received -and handed back. - -The Brahmans then wound up with a short address, to which he briefly -responded. He then distributed a few gold and silver flowers among his -friends, and the Europeans then withdrew to breakfast, which had been -prepared for them. - -[Illustration: BRAHMAN AT WORSHIP.] - -It may be asked why the Brahmans officiate so much when Siam is -emphatically a Buddhist country. I have asked several well-informed -noblemen for the reason, but have as yet been unable to ascertain. No -one appears able to give any true reason. There are a number of -Brahmans in the country, but their existence is scarcely ever noticed -except on some such occasion as the above. - -At eleven o’clock A. M. the new king appeared for the first time -before his whole court. The outer audience-hall was richly decorated -and spread with rich Brussels carpet. When the foreign consuls entered -in a body the whole Siamese court was prostrate on their knees and -elbows on the carpet. Very soon the king entered, arrayed in regal -robes and wearing his crown, and seated himself upon the throne. The -whole court simultaneously placed the palms of their hands together -and then raised them up to the forehead, bowing their heads three -times to the floor. The chief ministers of state then formally -delivered over their several departments to the new monarch, to whom -he briefly responded. Senhor Vianna, consul-general for Portugal――his -being the oldest consulate――then, on behalf of the consuls present, -read a short congratulatory address, which called forth another brief -response, and the audience retired. - -The king has generally one whom he constitutes his queen-consort. A -young princess of the highest rank that can be found in the kingdom is -selected. She is not, however, certain of promotion until after she -has lived with the king for a time and has succeeded in gaining a -large place in the royal affections. When this is sufficiently -accomplished the king appoints a day for her exaltation. Three days -are usually devoted to the purpose; the chief officers of the palace -and the chief princes and nobles of the kingdom are present. - -The principal ceremonies devolve upon the priests, of whom there are -quite a number present, both Buddhist and Brahman. The princess is -copiously bathed in pure water, in which the leaves of a certain kind -of tree supposed to possess purifying and healthful influences are -put. Most of the time is spent in feasting, but on the third day she -is placed on a small throne under a white canopy, where she is bathed -with holy water, the priests reciting prayers the while. She is then -conducted to a place where her wet clothes are laid aside, and she is -arrayed in queenly costume, jewels and diamonds, and then displays -herself to those in attendance. - -Instances have occurred where the king had two queen-consorts. In such -cases the one is called “the queen of the right hand” and the other -“the queen of the left hand.” It has only happened about twice in -Siamese history that the king has taken a foreign princess for his -queen-consort. - - -THE SIAMESE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. - -On the 21st of March, 1882, all the Siamese officials in the province -met upon the top of the mountain nearest to the town of Petchaburee -and drank the water of allegiance, pledging their loyalty to their -sovereign. They met in the audience-hall belonging to the king’s -country palace, which crowns the summit of this picturesque eminence. -Upon the throne erected for the king an image of Lord Buddha was -temporarily placed. Before the idol were burned incense-sticks and -sacred candles made of yellow wax. Below the idol was a large brasen -basin containing the water of allegiance. Across this basin were -placed a sword, gun, spear and other warlike weapons; a cord was tied -to the idol, and, passing around the basin of water, passed through -the hands of a line of yellow-robed priests, whose vain repetitions in -the Pali language were supposed to pass along the string to their -gilded god. Before each priest was placed two large salvers containing -a great variety of tempting-looking eatables, upon which, as soon as -they had finished their prayers, they fell to work in good earnest. -The repast finished, they brushed their teeth with the ends of soft -sticks, lit their cigarettes and puffed away complacently while the -oath was being administered. - -The oath of allegiance is a long, horrible affair, which should they -fail to keep, they said, “We beseech the power of the deities to -plague with poisonous boils rapidly fatal and all manner of diseases -the dishonorable, perverse and treacherous with untimely, wretched and -appalling deaths, manifest to the eyes of the world; when we shall -have departed this life from earth cause us to be sent and all to be -born in the great hell, where we shall burn with quenchless fire for -tens and hundreds of thousands of ages and limitless transmigrations; -and when we have expiated our penalty there, and are again born into -any world, we pray we may fail to find the least happiness in worlds -of pleasurable enjoyments; let us not meet the god Buddha, the sacred -teachings, the sacred priests that come to be gracious to animals, -helping them escape misery, reach heaven and attain a succession of -births and deaths; should we meet them, let them grant us no gracious -assistance.” This is not all, but it is enough to show the fearfulness -of the oath, to which the officials listened with apparent -indifference. - -The governor of the province, sitting upon his mat, with his vessels -and ornaments of gold spread out before him, seemed the most -indifferent of them all, and spent the greater portion of the time -occupied by reading the oath in picking fleas from his favorite dog -and in cracking them over his thumb. After the reading of the oath the -various weapons were dipped into the water, which exercise was -accompanied by the chanting of the priests and the blowing of -conch-shells, after which all in authority drank of the water and -sprinkled it upon their heads, bowing toward the idol and toward -Bangkok, where the king resides. This ended the ceremony, and all -departed to their homes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -_HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS IN SIAM AND LAOS._ - - -The American trading-vessel, commanded by Captain Coffin, which in -1829 brought to this country the famous “Siamese Twins,” brought also -an earnest appeal for aid in evangelizing that then almost unknown -land of their birth. - -The appeal came from the zealous German missionary Gutzlaff and his -associate, the Rev. Mr. Tomlin, of the London Missionary Society, who -six months before had made their way to Siam, where they found not -only an open door, but a large and most inviting field, for missionary -labor. Their own societies not encouraging their permanent occupation -of this advanced post in heathendom, both these brethren urged the -American churches to enter in and possess the land for Christ. In -response to the appeal of Gutzlaff, which was specially addressed to -them, the American Board of Foreign Missions instructed the Rev. David -Abeel, then in China, to visit Siam with a view to its occupancy if he -deemed it advisable. - -Dr. Abeel reached Singapore just as Mr. Tomlin was on the eve of -embarking on a second visit to Bangkok, and arrived with him in Siam -on June 30, 1831, a few days after Mr. Gutzlaff, disheartened by the -death of his devoted wife, had sailed away in a native junk for -Tientsin on the first of his memorable voyages of missionary -exploration up the coast of China. He had been in Siam nearly three -years in all, and had baptized one Chinese convert, whose name was -Boontai. - -The new-comers found the people eager for the books and medicines they -had brought, and they labored faithfully for the good of the many -Siamese and Chinese of high and low degree who came to visit them. In -six months, however, Mr. Tomlin was called away, and Dr. Abeel also -was obliged to leave Siam on a trip to Singapore to recruit his -impaired health. Returning to Siam, he labored on till November 5, -1832, when continued ill-health drove him finally from the field. - -Just two months before this the Rev. John Taylor Jones, who had been -appointed a missionary to Siam by his American Baptist missionary -associates in Burmah, to whom also Messrs. Gutzlaff and Tomlin had -written, left Maulmain, where he had been stationed, for Singapore, on -his way with his family to his new field. Delayed at that port, he did -not arrive in Siam till March 25, 1833. Mr. Jones had been designated -specially to the Siamese, but took supervision at once of the little -company of Chinese worshipers Dr. Abeel and others had gathered, and -in December baptized three of them. His Board at home approved the -step Mr. Jones had taken, and determined to sustain the new mission, -which thus proved to be the first permanently established in Siam. - -The next to arrive in the field were two missionaries of the American -Board, Messrs. Johnson and Robinson, who, with their wives, had -embarked at Boston June 11, 1833, but, detained nine weary months in -Singapore for a vessel to Siam, did not reach Bangkok till July 25, -1834, having been more than a year on their way. Mr. Johnson entered -at once upon active labors for the Chinese, and Mr. Robinson for the -Siamese, part of the population. - -During the summer of 1834 the Rev. William Dean and his wife, who had -been appointed by the American Baptist Board missionaries to the -Chinese of Siam――their first missionaries, in fact, to any speaking -the Chinese language――and Daniel B. Bradley, M. D., and wife, whom the -American Board sent out to reinforce their mission to the Siamese, -sailed from Boston for Singapore. While delayed at Singapore, Mrs. -Dean was removed by death, and it was not till July 18, twelve months -after leaving Boston, that Drs. Dean and Bradley, with Mrs. Bradley, -reached their destined field. - -Dr. Bradley soon opened a medical dispensary, and entered with zeal, -faith and energy, which neither illness nor tropical heat nor any -discouragement could abate, upon a course of medical and preaching, -printing, writing and translating labors for the good of the Siamese, -which ceased not till he resigned his breath in June, 1873――thirty-eight -years after. Dr. Dean devoted himself to the instruction of the -Chinese that thronged the city――a labor of Christian love which this -venerable first apostle of the Baptist Church to the Chinese is still -(1884) prosecuting in that same heathen city. In December, 1835, he -baptized three new converts. - -Both missions were now in efficient working order, with each its -Chinese department as well as its Siamese, the Baptist mission -laboring among the Chinese that spoke the Tachew dialect, who were -emigrants from the Swatow district of the Canton province, while the -A. B. C. F. M.’s mission looked after those that spoke the Hokien or -Amoy dialect――different from that used by the Swatow people, and -hardly intelligible to them. - -The medical services of the missionaries and their medicines, and the -Christian tracts and books they distributed without money and without -price, were eagerly sought, and there was free access to the people in -their streets, homes, and temples even, for making known the new -religion; but none seemed savingly impressed――none of the _Siamese_. -Indeed, while the protracted reign of the bigoted and imperious king -who was on the throne when missions were established in Siam -continued, it would seem no native could be brought even to entertain -the question of forsaking the religion of the land, such was the dread -of the king’s wrath and of the stripes, imprisonment, torture, death -itself perhaps, that might be the fate of a convert. - -The Chinese settlers in Siam were allowed more freedom of conscience; -the displeasure of their kinsmen was all they would have to fear from -change of religion. So Dr. Dean had the happiness of seeing the number -of Chinese believers increase, till in 1837 a church was -organized――the first church of Protestant Chinese Christians that was -ever gathered in the East. To this, by 1848, sixty names had been -added at different times. Mr. Johnson too, of the American Board’s -mission, had the pleasure of baptizing his Chinese teacher in 1838, -and in 1844 another of his teachers, Quaking, a Chinese of very -respectable literary attainments. - -Meanwhile, all labored on in hope. Reinforcements were sent from time -to time to each mission. To the Baptist came, July, 1836, the Rev. Mr. -Davenport and wife and Mr. and Mrs. Reid――Mr. Reid, alas! to die of -dysentery in a little over a year. With these brethren came a -printing-press. A printing-press was sent out to the American mission -also the next year, so that both were now fully equipped for a most -important branch of mission-work among this nation of readers. Before -the year (1836) came to a close the first tract was printed, -containing an account of the giving of the Law, a summary of the Ten -Commandments, a short prayer and a few hymns. This is supposed to be -the first printing ever executed in Siam. They had also secured more -comfortable quarters on the west bank of the river, in the heart of -the city, in houses built for them and leased to them by the Praklang, -the minister of foreign affairs. - -In March, 1838, Mrs. Eliza G. Jones died of cholera. She was a lady of -many gifts and graces. A little tract from her pen, _The Burmese -Village_, is one of the most vivid and touching pictures of heathenism -in all missionary literature. In April the Rev. Mr. Robbins and Dr. -Tracy arrived to join the A. B. C. F. M. mission, but both left the -following year. - -This year (1838) was one memorable in the history of the Presbyterian -mission, as in it occurred the visit of the Rev. R. W. Dee, who had -been directed by the Presbyterian Board to proceed to Bangkok and -report upon its eligibility as a station for the missionary operations -they were about entering upon for the Chinese, so difficult of access -in their own country. During his month’s stay in Siam, Mr. Dee found -so large a field unoccupied, where laborers from our branch of the -Church would be gladly welcomed, that he urged upon the Board the -establishment of a mission in that land, not only to the Chinese -there, but to the Siamese also. November 5, 1838, Dr. Bradley was -ordained a minister of the gospel by his congregational associates. - -In 1839 the Siamese government availed itself of one of the mission -printing-presses to multiply copies of a royal proclamation against -opium, and had an edition of nine thousand copies struck off. In -August of this year the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Slaftee of the Baptist -mission arrived. - -In 1840 vaccination was successfully introduced into Siam by Dr. -Bradley,――a great boon to the people, among whom small-pox often -committed fearful ravages. - -The American Board’s mission was strongly reinforced in its Siamese -departments early in the year by the arrival of the Rev. Messrs. Jesse -Caswell, Asa Hemenway, N. S. Benham and their wives, with Miss -Pierce――Mr. Benham to lose his life in one short month by drowning, -his boat capsizing in the Menam when returning from an evening -prayer-meeting. The Rev. Messrs. French and Peet, with their wives, -also arrived in May. To the Chinese department of the Baptist mission -came the Rev. Josiah Goddard and his wife in October. - -It was in August of this same year that the Rev. William Buell and -wife, the first missionaries of the Presbyterian Board to the Siamese, -arrived in Bangkok. There were then in Siam no less than twenty-four -adult male and female missionaries. - -But the next year Mr. Slaftee died of dysentery and Mrs. Johnson of -brain fever, and the widowed Mrs. Benham returned to the United -States. In 1842, Mr. French died of consumption, and the following -year his widow left Siam for the United States. - -In 1842, by the treaty made at the close of the war between England -and China, the island of Hong Kong was ceded to the English and five -important seaports thrown open to foreign residence and trade. Dr. -Dean, under instruction from his Board, who hastened to enter the now -unbarred gates of access to the Chinese empire, removed early in the -year to Hong Kong, leaving the Chinese church in Bangkok in charge of -Mr. Goddard. - -In 1843, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Chandler arrived from Burmah, where, as a -type-founder and lay missionary, he had been employed for three years. -Being a practical machinist, he did much to introduce a knowledge of -the useful arts among some of the leading men of the kingdom. Prince -Chow Fah Noi, who subsequently, in 1851, was made the second king, -became a pupil of his, and constructed a well-appointed machine-shop -under his supervision, as did also an intelligent young Siamese -nobleman of progressive ideas who afterward became master of the mint. - -In 1844 the first steamer ever seen in Siam made its appearance, and -greatly astonished the natives. On leaving, it took as passengers to -Singapore the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Buell, the only missionaries of the -Presbyterian Board, who were now, after only three and a half years’ -residence, most reluctantly obliged to abandon their work, Mrs. Buell -having been stricken with paralysis. With their departure (February -24th) the Presbyterian mission in Siam died out, or rather was -suspended, and more than three years elapsed before it was resumed. It -had from the first been the intention of the Board to establish and -maintain a _Chinese_ department, but those sent out for this purpose, -on reaching Singapore and learning there how fully open China proper -was to the gospel, felt themselves called to proceed to that land, -whose claims seemed so much greater. Miss Pierce of the American -Board, who had come out as a missionary teacher, but failed to gather -a school, died of consumption in September of this year. - -The year 1845 witnessed quite a reduction in the number of the -American missionaries in Siam. The Rev. Mr. Davenport and wife (now -Mrs. Fanny Feudge) of the Baptist mission left for the United States, -to return no more, and Dr. Jones, also, on a visit. The Rev. Charles -Robinson and family of the A. B. C. F. M. also left Siam (Mr. R. to -die at St. Helena on his passage home), while Mrs. Dr. Bradley died at -Bangkok in the triumphs of faith after years of efficient and loving -service for her Saviour――a most valuable helper in her husband’s work. - -It was in this year that Prince Chow Fah Mongkut (Chow Fa Yai), who -afterward became king, then head-priest of a royal monastery within -the city-walls, invited one of the American missionaries, the Rev. -Jesse Caswell, to become his private tutor. So anxious was this -priest-prince for instruction that he offered an inducement which he -knew would weigh heavily with a missionary――the use of a room in a -building on the temple-grounds, where, after his hour for teaching was -over, he could preach and distribute Christian tracts. The arrangement -was made and carried out for over a year and a half. So much of the -future of Siam in providence was to hinge on those hours of intimate -intercourse between the faithful teacher and his illustrious and most -diligent pupil that all the particulars are of interest. The prince -was then about forty years of age――his teacher a graduate of Lane -Theological Seminary, a member of the Presbytery of Cincinnati, and in -the service of the A. B. C. F. M. - -In 1846 the American Board, rightly deeming China proper a wider and -more promising field for the labors of their Chinese-speaking -missionaries, decided to give up their Chinese department in Siam, -instructing Messrs. Johnson and Peet to proceed to China and establish -a new mission at Fuh-Chow-fuh. With the close of the year came the -Rev. Mr. Jenks to assist Mr. Goddard of the Baptist mission, only to -leave, however, before the close of the next year, in consequence of -the failure of Mrs. Jenks’s health. - -In February, 1847, Dr. Bradley, with his three motherless children, -left on a visit to the United States, his ship passing in the Gulf of -Siam the vessel in which newly-appointed missionaries of the -Presbyterian Board, Rev. Stephen Mattoon and wife and Samuel R. House, -M. D., were on their way to recommence the mission-work of that Board -in Siam, which had been so long discontinued. - -These brethren had sailed from New York for China in the ship Grafton -in July, 1846, arriving at Macao, after a five months’ voyage, on -Christmas Day. No opportunity thence direct to Siam presenting, they -were constrained to proceed _viâ_ Singapore. There they were most -hospitably entertained by the Rev. B. P. Keasberry, a missionary to -the Malays, then of the London Missionary Society. Finding in the -harbor a native-built trading-ship belonging to the king of Siam, -commanded by a European, they secured a passage in it to Bangkok, -which, after a tedious voyage of twenty-four days, they reached March -22, 1847, eight months after they left New York. The journey from New -York to Bangkok can now be made by transcontinental railways and -Pacific mail-steamers, or by English steamers and the Suez Canal, -according as one goes west or east, in six or seven weeks only. - -Upon arriving the new-comers were most cordially received by the -brethren of the A. B. C. F. M. and the American Baptist mission, and -welcomed to the homes of Messrs. Caswell and Hemenway, the only -remaining members of the A. B. C. F. M., till the vacant houses on -their premises could be prepared for their reception. They were soon -visited by many of the nobles and princes, and took an early -opportunity to pay their respects to the Praklang, Prince T. Mourfanoi -(Chow Fah Noi), and his elder brother, T. Y. Chow Fah Mongkut, the -prince-priest, at his residence in a beautiful monastery in the city. -By both these princes they were most kindly received――by the -last-named with marked regard, which they ever retained. - -The tidings spreading that a new foreign physician had come to Siam, -patients of every description and of all classes crowded for relief, -till Dr. House was compelled to reopen the dispensary, which had long -been sustained by Dr. Bradley in a floating-house moored in front of -the mission premises. During the first eighteen months he had -prescribed for three thousand one hundred and seventeen patients. Mr. -Mattoon applied himself successfully to the study of the language, and -soon entered upon the work of tract-distribution, visiting for this -purpose the wats or Buddhist monasteries of the city, none being more -ready to receive Christian books than the priests――or monks, -rather――themselves. - -In the ensuing cool season many tours were made with the brethren of -other missions. Petchaburee, Ayuthia, Prabat and Petrui were visited, -and everywhere they found a ready reception for the books and tracts -they carried with them. - -In 1848 the Rev. John Taylor Jones, D. D., returned with Mrs. S. S. -Jones and Miss Harriet Morse, a missionary teacher, but Mr. Goddard of -the same mission was obliged to remove to a more invigorating climate, -and left for Ningpo, China. In September of this year the mission -cause sustained an irreparable loss in the death of Jesse Caswell. He -was a man of most earnest purpose and rare fitness for the missionary -work. His qualifications as a teacher were appreciated by the Prince -Chow Fah Mongkut, who chose him as his instructor in the English -language and science, and derived from him, chiefly during the -eighteen months’ continuous instruction he received, those enlarged -and liberal ideas in government and religion which, when he succeeded -to the throne, led him to open Siam to commerce and improvement. No -wonder that after he became king he erected a handsome tomb over his -esteemed teacher’s remains and sent to his widow in the United States -a gift of one thousand dollars, and subsequently five hundred dollars -more, as tokens of regard for his memory. In February, 1849, Mrs. -Caswell and family returned to America. - -Mr. Caswell’s death and Mr. Hemenway’s illness threw now upon Mr. -Mattoon, though he had been but eighteen months in the field, the -Sabbath preaching-service at the station and a tri-weekly service at a -hired room used as a chapel in the bazaar. There were, too, many -applicants for books daily at the houses of the missionaries, and they -had to be instructed and supplied. - -In 1849 the Presbyterian missionaries were made glad by the arrival in -April of the Rev. Stephen Bush and wife, as were the Baptists by the -Rev. Samuel J. Smith’s arrival in June. When a lad Mr. Smith had been -taken into the family of Dr. Jones, came on with him to Siam, had been -sent by him thence to the United States to be educated, and now came -out to assist that veteran missionary in his work. - -The newly-arrived missionaries were busy in the acquisition of the -language when suddenly the pestilence like a thunderbolt burst upon -the inhabitants of Bangkok, sweeping to destruction in less than one -month full thirty-five thousand, or about one-tenth, of its -population. For days together, when this epidemic of Asiatic cholera -was at its height, there were two thousand deaths in the twenty-four -hours in Bangkok alone. The mission families were graciously permitted -to abide in peace and safety. As may be imagined, the whole time of -the missionary-physician was engrossed by attendance on the sick and -the dying in princes’ palaces and in bamboo huts, and, through the -blessing of Providence on remedies to which he was directed, many -lives were saved and many lifelong friends secured to himself and the -religion he professed. Of all those thousands that perished, alas! but -one died in hope――an old man from a far-distant up-country home, who -from the reading of Christian tracts alone, without ever seeing the -living teacher, had joyfully received the truth, and, finding his way -to Bangkok and to the Baptist mission to be instructed more perfectly, -got there just in time (so it was strangely ordered) to become one of -the earliest victims of the epidemic. He died without fear, trusting -in the Saviour he had found. - -August 29, 1849, witnessed the organization of the first Presbyterian -church in Siam. Earnest prayer went up that day that the little vine -there planted might flourish and increase, and at last overshadow the -land. To this church, made up of the mission families, a worthy native -brother was added by certificate from the church in connection with -mission of the A. B. C. F. M.――Quakieng, who, it will be remembered, -had been baptized by Mr. Johnson in 1844. - -With the last week of the year 1849 the Rev. Asa Hemenway, the sole -remaining missionary of the A. B. C. F. M., after just ten years of -faithful service on mission-ground, embarked with his family for the -United States, and the operations of that Board in Siam closed. For -fifteen years its missionaries had cultivated this interesting and -inviting, but as to visible results most barren, field. From none of -the native races of the land had they gathered one reliable convert. -Their missionaries had labored, and labored well, but others were to -enter into their labor. The “set time” for Siam’s visitation had not -yet come. It would seem that “he that letteth must let, till he be -taken out of the way” of this man-fearing people before gospel truth -could have “free course, run and be glorified.” The books that they -prepared, translated and distributed, the favor won by their -gratuitous healing of the sick, and the introduction, first, of -inoculation and afterward of vaccination for the small-pox, the -training given in habits of industry and order and in knowledge of the -Christian Scriptures to those employed by them in their printing-office -and in their families, were not lost, nor the high opinion the natives -learned to entertain of the truthfulness, benevolence and goodness of -American Christian men derived from them and their worthy Baptist -associates. And we must not forget how largely the career of progress -on which Siam has since entered is traceable to the influence of one -member of this mission. - -In the spring of 1850 the Rev. Dr. Bradley, who had, while in the -United States, transferred his relations to the American Missionary -Association, returned with Mrs. Sarah B. Bradley and his children, and -with him came as associates the Rev. L. B. Lane, M. D., and Prof. J. -Silsby. To the A. M. A. had been made over the dwelling-houses, -chapel, printing-press, etc. of the A. B. C. F. M.; the ground on -which they stood had been only leased. - -It was now imperatively necessary that the Presbyterian mission should -have a home of its own, but all attempts to procure one failed. The -knowledge of the unwillingness of the government to give foreigners -any foothold upon the soil deterred the owners of suitable locations -from selling to the missionaries. And when at last one, braver than -the rest, was found willing to part with land enough for a station in -the upper part of the city, and permission to purchase obtained from -the proper official, and the money had been paid over, and one of the -missionaries with his family had removed in a floating house to the -spot to commence building, a peremptory order from one of the highest -grandees revoked the permission given, and compelled the return of the -mission family and the payment back of the purchase-money by the -seller. No other reason was given than that “the residence of -foreigners there was contrary to the custom of the country.” Nor could -any eligible site be rented even. - -The king, who had always been a zealous and bigoted Buddhist, had now -become more despotic and selfish and averse to foreign intercourse -than ever, monopolized himself what little trade there was, and -settled down into a narrow policy that would exclude all nations but -China from the products of his dominion. Neither of the friendly -embassies which visited Siam this year――that from America in March or -that from England in August――could obtain an audience even, much less -gain any concessions in matters of trade or residence or protection of -the interests of their people. - -The English ambassador, the celebrated Sir James Brooke (“Rajah -Brooke”), mortified and insulted by the reception given him, withdrew, -threatening to return with a fleet and force that should compel -respect. War seemed so imminent that the proposition kindly made to -the mission families to retire with the ships of the embassy, lest -hostile measures entered upon should subject not English residents -only, but all speaking the English tongue, to a fate like that of Dr. -Judson when the war broke out with Burmah, was seriously considered, -though not accepted. - -Very dark were the prospects of all the missions now. The native -teachers were arrested and imprisoned, and threatened with the ratan -and with fetters; the Siamese servants left in a panic; none came to -hear preaching or applied for books. - -But the darkest hour is just before day. Just then, in the overruling -providence of God, a mortal though lingering illness seized the king, -and for months all things were in suspense till, in April, 1851, his -long reign ended and he “entered into Nipan,” as the Siamese say when -royalty expires. - -Upon the throne, as his successor, was now placed, by the concurrent -voice of the grand council of princes and nobles, the Prince Chow Fah -Mongkut, and Siam entered upon a new era in her history; for this -remarkable man by his devotion to study during the twenty-seven years -of his seclusion from public affairs in a monastery, while his -inferior half-brother, who had artfully supplanted him, reigned with -so strong a hand, and by his intimate association with the American -missionaries, and especially by his having been long under the almost -daily tutelage of one of them, had become emancipated from many of the -prejudices of his countrymen, and prepared to set the wheels of -progress in motion. - -Bright now were the prospects of the missionaries. Their teachers and -their old servants returned, and, as the sovereign was known to be -personally friendly to the missionaries, they were treated with -respect by all ranks, and had everywhere a civil hearing for the -message they brought. Indeed, they were assured from the throne on the -day of the coronation, when they were invited to the palace, that they -should be unmolested in their work. Lest, however, they should be too -exultant in their new hopes, Providence was pleased to order trials -and bereavements to each of the missions. Mrs. Bush had an attack of -hemorrhage from the lungs, that on the 22d of July, after six short -weeks of illness, resulted in her death. No, it was _not death_, but -_a translation_. To those who witnessed her triumphant departure it -seemed as if her spirit, when it reached the threshold of the gate of -the heavenly city, turned to tell them what she saw. “Beautiful!” she -said――“beautiful! Heaven is one great beauty.” - -Early in January, in the midst of the other discouragements, the -Baptist mission had suffered a great calamity. A fire in the night, -doubtless of incendiary origin, had destroyed their dwelling-houses, -chapel, printing-press――including a large edition just completed of -the New Testament in Siamese――and nearly all their personal effects. -Their loss amounted to ten or twelve thousand dollars. A temporary -house of bamboo and thatch was hastily thrown up, but new dwellings -must be erected, and from exposure to the sun and fatigue in procuring -timber for the rebuilding Dr. Jones was taken ill, and, his -constitution being impaired by a score of years spent in the tropics, -he succumbed to disease on the 13th of September, and passed -peacefully away――an irreparable loss to his mission and to Siam. He -was a man of excellent judgment, piety and culture, and had a rare -mastery of the Siamese language with its curious idioms that made him -most acceptable to the natives as a preacher and writer. His -translation of the New Testament and several tracts that he prepared -attest his scholarship in Siamese and his ability. - -Just before this sad event the Rev. William Ashmore and wife, who had -been sent out by the Baptist Board to take charge of the Chinese -department, arrived in Bangkok. - -And now the Presbyterian mission obtained at last what it had so many -years sought in vain. An eligible location was tendered them near the -centre of the city, not far below the palace, adjoining one of the -largest wats and in the neighborhood of several others. - -About this time the king, with a singular appreciation for an Oriental -monarch of the importance of female education, in a note in which he -says he “desires several ladies who live with him to acquire knowledge -in English,” invited the wives of the missionaries to visit his palace -and alternate in giving regular instruction to his numerous family. -Gladly and with much interest did Mrs. Mattoon, Mrs. Dr. Bradley and -Mrs. Dr. Jones, representing the three missions in the field, enter -upon their work――_the first zenana-teaching ever attempted in the -East_.[2] Twenty-one of the thirty young wives of the king, and -several of his royal sisters, composed the class. During the three -years these labors continued much Christian as well as secular -knowledge was imparted to these secluded ones――_saving_ knowledge, it -was hoped, in the case of one at least, a princess of the highest -rank. - -As soon as the rains were over and possession was given of their new -premises, Messrs. Mattoon and Bush proceeded to enclose the ground, -dig trenches for the foundations, purchase rafts of teak-wood logs and -superintend their sawing by hand into the timber and planks required -to put up two plain but convenient brick dwelling-houses. Mr. Bush’s -experience and practical skill here proved of great value. Before the -rains fairly set in, early in June, one house was finished, and Mrs. -Mattoon and family removed into it from the floating house on the -river, lent to them by a friendly prince, which had been their -temporary home while the new building was going up. They had found it -not an undesirable residence, though one memorable dark night, having -been detached from its moorings that it might slip away from a fire -that was raging on a river-bank near, through the carelessness of a -servant it got adrift and carried its inmates off against their will, -with a rapid tide, seven or eight miles down the river before its -progress could be arrested. The truant dwelling, however, with all its -contents undisturbed, with the turn of the tide was brought back to -its old moorings safe and sound. - -The other dwelling-house was soon completed and occupied. The mission -having now a home of its own and ample room, in October, 1852, a -boarding-school for Siamo-Chinese boys was opened, and Quakieng, who -was an experienced Chinese teacher, put in charge――the free tuition -the lads would receive half of each day in their father-tongue being, -it was hoped, an inducement that would attract such pupils within the -reach of Christian instruction. - -Before the first year ended twenty-seven had been enrolled. All -attempts to gather _Siamese_ boys in a school had failed thus far, -though some individual scholars had been taught, as the wats gave free -tuition to all, and merit was made by providing the priests with their -pupil-attendants. - -An interesting, amiable young Hainan Chinese, See Teug by name, had -the year previous been baptized by Mr. Mattoon, in whose family he -long had lived――the first of that people to become a Protestant -Christian――and gave pleasing evidence of his love to his Saviour by -the interest he manifested in bringing his fellow-countrymen to the -knowledge of the gospel. A Sabbath evening-service was held for their -benefit, the new convert acting as Bible-reader and interpreter. -Afterward a Hainan teacher was secured, and for many years a -Hainan-Chinese department of the boarding-school maintained, in the -hope of bringing under saving Christian influences some of the many -Chinese in Siam from the island of Hainan, which had been hitherto -entirely unreached by Protestant missionary effort. A day-school for -the Peguan girls in the neighborhood was started by Mrs. Mattoon, who -had also two or three native girls in her own family under Christian -training. - -About this time great numbers came to the houses of the missionaries -for books and conversation on religious matters, fifty or sixty in a -day, attendance upon whom required the whole time of one of the -brethren. Over a thousand Christian books a month were thus put into -the hands of intelligent readers. Young priests and boys from the -neighboring wats were frequent visitors, and as no second volume was -given until they had been questioned on the contents of the first, and -many thus received the whole series of the publications of the -mission, much Scripture truth must have been imparted. So eager were -some of these lads for books that they would swim across the river to -get one, and then swim back with but one hand, holding up the prize -high and dry with the other. - -And now followed a time of great outward prosperity――the government -friendly, the missionaries enjoying the respect of all classes, their -schools flourishing, their books eagerly sought. The mission of the -American Missionary Association, as a special token of the king’s -regard for its senior member, Dr. Bradley, was permitted to occupy a -very desirable location at the mouth of the principal canal of the -city, the chief channel of travel west. - -In December, 1852, Mr. Bush, whose health required a change, left for -the United States. - -The next year Dr. House made a tour of great interest, partly on foot, -partly on elephants, to Korat, an important inland town north-east of -Bangkok, over in the great valley of the Cambodia River, returning by -Kabin, and distributing many books and making known to many a -surprised listener in a wide district of country never before visited -by a missionary, or a white man even, the strange doctrine――strange to -them――of the being of a _living_ God and salvation without personal -merit freely granted for another’s sake. Much of Mr. Mattoon’s time -was now given to the work of making a revised translation of the New -Testament into Siamese. - -In 1854 a Mormon missionary found his way to Siam, but, meeting no -encouragement, soon withdrew. The Siamese did not need any urging to -the practice of polygamy. - -Prof. Silsby left Siam in May of this year, and Mr. J. H. Chandler and -wife returned, and with them came the Rev. Robert Telford and wife to -assist in the Chinese department of the Baptist mission. - -In January, 1855, Dr. Lane of the A. M. A., on account of the health -of his family, and Miss Morse of the Baptist mission, took their final -leave of Siam. - -The time was now at hand when Siam, so long secluded and almost -unknown, was to enter more fully into the family of nations by -treaties of commerce and friendship with the great powers of the West. -Sir John Bowring, then governor of Hong Kong, arrived March, 1855, as -British ambassador to the court of Siam, and was cordially welcomed by -the king, with whom he had previously been in friendly correspondence. -Aided by his able secretary of legation, Consul Parkes (now Sir Harry -Parkes, British minister to Pekin), in one short month, in one week of -actual negotiation, he overturned the customs and prejudices of -centuries, and had conceded to him by the enlightened ruler of the -land and his ministers of state the abolition of all the government -monopolies of articles of trade, the removal of the old foolish -prohibition of the export of rice and teak-wood, moderate duties on -imports, the residence of consuls to protect the interests of their -countrymen, and liberty for British subjects to travel and take up -land in the country. This treaty opened the way for all subsequent -treaties with other nations, and so opened Siam to the commerce of the -world. - -Dr. House availed himself, when the embassy left Siam, of the -courteous offer of a free passage to Singapore, to make a brief visit -to his native land to seek for the reinforcements his mission so -greatly needed. While at home he was ordained and married, and, -re-embarking with Mrs. House and the Rev. A. B. Morse and wife, -reached Bangkok again in July, 1856, greatly to the joy of the -solitary mission family that with faith and patience unwearied had -been “holding the fort.” - -Meanwhile, a month or two before, our United States government had by -its ambassador, Townsend Harris, Esq., negotiated a treaty almost -identical with the British, and, to the great satisfaction of the -Siamese, Mr. Mattoon was appointed consul. Dr. William M. Wood, late -surgeon-general U. S. Navy, who accompanied the embassy, testifies in -his book, _Fankwei_, that the “unselfish kindness of the American -missionaries, their patience, sincerity and truthfulness, have won the -confidence and esteem of the natives, and in some degree transferred -those sentiments to the nation represented by the missions, and -prepared the way for the free national intercourse now commencing. It -was very evident that much of the apprehension they felt in taking -upon themselves the responsibilities of a treaty with us would be -diminished if they could have the Rev. Mr. Mattoon as the first U. S. -consul to set the treaty in motion.” Mr. Mattoon accepted the office, -however, only till a successor should be appointed at Washington. -Meanwhile, his mission-work――preaching, translating, etc.――was not -intermitted. - -In 1856 the schools reported forty-seven in attendance, and every -department of the work was in successful operation. - -Another station in Bangkok being thought desirable, and a large lot -with broad frontage on the river on its west bank in the lower suburbs -of the city becoming available, it was secured, and Mr. Morse (a -bamboo cottage being put up for his temporary residence) removed there -and commenced building a brick dwelling-house. Ere its walls were half -up he was completely prostrated by disease, and forced, to the great -regret of his associates, to leave the field and the work he loved, -and for which he was so well qualified. Previous to his leaving, Mrs. -Mattoon, finding an American ship loading at Bangkok to sail direct -for the United States in March of this year, had availed herself of -the opportunity to make a visit home for rest and to recruit her -strength, exhausted by ten years’ toil in a tropical climate. - -It being necessary to go on and complete the building begun by Mr. -Morse, and the new premises there having the advantage of carrying on -some departments of missionary work, and not being subject to -ground-rent, as was the other place, it was deemed best to give up the -upper station, dispose of the buildings there and establish the -Presbyterian mission permanently on the newly-purchased ground. The -removal of the mission to the new station, four miles below, was made -in November, 1857, and another dwelling-house immediately commenced. - -This was nearly completed when, June 20, 1858, the Rev. Jonathan -Wilson and wife and the Rev. Daniel McGilvary arrived. Messrs. W. and -McG. had been room-mates at Princeton Seminary; while there had both -felt the claims upon them of missionary work, and had become much -interested in Siam; but after graduating Mr. McGilvary was called to -become pastor over a church in North Carolina, and Mr. Wilson had gone -out as a missionary to the Choctaw Indians. Years passed, and each had -been led by the pressing needs of the field to offer himself to the -Board for service there, and most gratifying was it to find that they -were to be sent out together. - -The number of ordained ministers now warranted the formation of a -Presbytery, and the Presbytery of Siam was duly constituted September -1, 1858. - -In the study of the language, aiding in the instruction of the pupils -in the boarding-school and in tract-distribution the new brethren -found enough to busy them. - -In January, 1859, the Rev. S. Mattoon, who had then for some twelve -years without intermission borne the burden and heat of the day, -returned to the United States for the much-needed change, rejoining -his family there. - -Signs of more than usual religious interest appeared about this time, -and one of the native teachers, Nai Chune, applied for Christian -baptism. So deep, however, was the duplicity of this people generally, -and so many who professed interest in the teachings of the gospel had -proved to be influenced by purely selfish motives, that when this case -of genuine conviction of the truth occurred, just what they had been -hoping and praying for so long, the brethren distrusted the sincerity -of the man, and put him off from week to week until fairly compelled -to admit that the miracle of converting grace had actually been -wrought even in a Siamese, and they could no longer forbid water that -he should be baptized. The day of Nai Chune’s baptism (August 7, 1859) -was to them a jubilee indeed. With tears of joy they gathered in at -last, after more than twelve years of toil unblest, the first-fruits -of their labor among the Siamese. - -It was singular that this same year (in December) the mission should -lose its first church-member――Quakieng, the faithful, consistent -Chinese native assistant. He was attacked by cholera and died, -commending his departing spirit to his heavenly Father. With his death -the Hokien-Chinese instruction in the mission-school ceased, and soon -after the teaching of the Hainan Chinese in their native tongue. The -school was too well established now to need to hold out this -inducement to attract pupils. - -The cholera was quite prevalent in April, and Mrs. Wilson nearly -became a victim. Other diseases set in, and she lingered on the -borders of the spirit-land till July 10th, when she closed a blameless -Christian life and entered into the home of the blessed with words of -rapture on her lips. - -The stricken band in the Presbyterian mission were greatly cheered and -strengthened two months after by the return (September 15th) of Mr. -Mattoon and family, and with them the Rev. N. A. McDonald and the Rev. -S. G. McFarland and their wives. - -Up to this time the Presbyterian mission had been dependent for its -printing upon sister-missions, but now a press of its own, sent out by -the Board, was set up and soon in successful operation. A year or two -later it reported an issue of more than half a million of pages -annually. - -In December, Mr. McGilvary was married to Miss Sophia R. Bradley, -eldest daughter of Rev. D. B. Bradley, M. D., of the American -Missionary Association. This cool season Messrs. Wilson and McFarland -accompanied Mr. Telford of the Baptist Board on a trip for -distribution of Siamese and Chinese tracts down the east coast of the -gulf as far as Chantaboon. - -With such an accession to the members of the Presbyterian mission as -they had lately received, it was now deemed that the time had come for -them to establish a new station somewhere outside of Bangkok, and -Petchaburee was fixed upon as its location. This is an important -inland town, some eighty-five miles south-west from the capital city, -situated in the midst of charming scenery in a fertile and populous -district of country. The acting governor of the province favored the -having a station there, and offered every assistance; and this in a -place where the authorities treated very uncivilly the first -missionaries who visited it, and arrested those who received books at -their hands. Ground having been purchased and the house they had -secured made ready for them, in June, 1861, Messrs. McGilvary and -McFarland, with their families, removed to Petchaburee. Another -dwelling-house was soon under way, and a school opened on the -premises, with the sons of the governor and lieutenant-governor -enrolled among the pupils. - -The name Petchaburee signifies the “city of diamonds,” and soon after -their arrival the missionaries found there, in the midst of the -rubbish of heathen superstition and idolatry, a gem, a living stone of -priceless value, that has since been taken to shine doubtless in the -Redeemer’s crown. It was a native Siamese, Nai Kawn by name, from a -village near, who called upon them to place his son under their -instruction. The lad already knew the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s -Prayer. The father himself surprised them by his facility in quoting -Scripture, repeating whole chapters of Romans; and on conversing with -him it appeared that, though he had never seen a missionary, from some -two or three portions of the Scripture and a few Christian tracts that -had fallen in his hands, taught by the Spirit of God, he had gained, -and accepted too, a wonderfully clear view of salvation by faith in -the Lord Jesus Christ. Gladly he received other portions of the New -and Old Testament, and, further instructed, he became a fearless and -efficient witness for the truth before his countrymen of high and low -degree. - -The brethren at Petchaburee, with the freest access to the Siamese -everywhere, found a peculiarly inviting field of labor among a colony -of Laos numbering ten thousand or so, settled near them. These people, -adherents of a prince who had failed in his struggle for the throne, -had fled in a body from their own land in the far north-east some -eighty years before, and, seeking refuge in the dominion of the king -of Siam, had been assigned a home and lands in this fertile province. -They were made serfs of the king, however, and much of the time had to -work for their new royal master. A preaching-place was secured in one -of their villages, and these toiling exiles seemed to be interested -hearers of the word. - -But to return to Bangkok. In December, 1861, Esther, a young native -woman who had been brought up in the family of Mrs. Mattoon, was -baptized,――the first native female member of the Presbyterian -mission-church of Siam. - -On February, 2, 1862, the Rev. S. C. George and wife, who had been -sent out by the Presbyterian Board, arrived in Bangkok. Mrs. George -was a sister of Mrs. Johnson, one of the noble company of martyred -missionaries put to death by Nana Sahib’s orders at Cawnpore. Much -faithful colporteur work in the city and suburbs was done this year by -Mr. Wilson, and mission-tours were made to Camburi and Prabat by him -and other missionaries. A neat mission-chapel which had been built on -the mission premises without drawing upon the funds of the Board was -opened for divine service in May. In December, Messrs. McDonald and -House, with Mr. Telford of the Baptist mission, made a coasting-trip -to Chantaboon, distributing many Siamese and Chinese books and tracts -there and at other places visited on the way. - -The first fruit of the labor of the Petchaburee missionaries was -gathered in February, 1863, when Kao, a young Siamese of much promise, -was baptized. He had entered Mr. McFarland’s service that he might -acquire a knowledge of English, but he was instructed also in the way -of life, and learned that which made him wise unto salvation. One -short month, and he left his dying testimony to the excellence of the -new religion he had embraced. Called away by sudden and severe -illness, his last words were, “Why do you weep? I am not afraid to -die. I love the Lord Jesus. I am going to heaven. My heart is happy.” -There were others in Petchaburee who soon after had the courage to -renounce Buddhism and publicly avow themselves Christians. May 10, -1863, a Siamese man and his wife, who had been long in Mr. McGilvary’s -employ, and a young Siamo-Chinese in Mr. McFarland’s, were baptized -and a church organized in Petchaburee. It was an occasion of great and -joyful interest to the brethren there. - -In May the Rev. Robert Telford and wife of the Baptist mission, after -nine years’ labor among the Chinese of Siam, were obliged to leave -Siam in quest of health, embarking for China. - -Mr. McGilvary, in his labors for their spiritual good, had become so -much interested in the Laos people settled near him in Petchaburee -that he was anxious to learn if something could not be done for the -evangelization of the hundreds of thousands of Laos in the tributary -states to the north, as yet unreached by the gospel. Accordingly, with -the consent of the mission, he made in that cool season, with Mr. -Wilson, an exploring-tour to the hitherto unvisited North Laos -country, journeying partly by boat, partly on elephants, as far as -Cheung Mai, the capital. The travelers were well received by the -authorities, and after an absence of eleven weeks returned strongly -impressed with the practicability and desirableness of establishing a -mission among that interesting people. - -The varied work of the mission at the two stations was carried on as -in former years, some engaged in the boys’ school, others having -charge of the printing-press or translating the Scriptures or -preparing tracts and catechisms, maintaining the preaching-services, -conversing with visitors, distributing tracts or medicines, -vaccinating native children, studying the language with native -teachers, or conducting the daily morning service, which all on the -mission premises or in mission employ were required to attend, and -when, with the brief exposition of the Scripture read, much religious -instruction was given. The wives of the missionaries also did much for -the instruction of the native females in their families and -neighborhoods in reading and sewing and in Bible-classes on the -Sabbath. - -In February, 1864, Dr. and Mrs. House left on a visit to the United -States, the state of Mrs. House’s health requiring it; and a few -months later Mrs. Mattoon, whose asthmatic trouble had returned, was -compelled to take her final leave of Siam. Her husband remained to -finish the important work on which he had long been engaged of making -a revised translation of the New Testament into Siamese. Mr. Wilson, -whose health had become impaired, accompanied Mrs. Mattoon and her -children to America. - -In December, 1864, the Rev. Dr. Dean, whose shattered constitution had -been restored by eleven years’ sojourn in his native land, gladly -returned (with Mrs. Dean, Miss F. Dean and the Rev. C. H. Chilcott) to -take charge again of the Baptist Board’s mission-work for the Chinese -and of the Chinese church in Bangkok, which he had founded. Mr. -Chilcott was removed by death before he had entered on the second year -of his missionary life. - -In December, 1865, the Rev. S. Mattoon took his final and regretful -leave of the land and the people for whose good he had labored so long -and so faithfully――a loss to the community as well as to the mission. -From the date of his embarkation for the field to that of his arrival -in the United States on his return was just twenty years. - -April 4, 1866, the Rev. P. L. Carden and wife arrived to join the -Presbyterian mission, and in July the Rev. J. Wilson returned with -Mrs. Kate M. Wilson. In July also came Miss A. M. Fielde, to be -connected with the Chinese department of the Baptist mission. Dr. and -Mrs. House returned in December from their visit home, with health -renewed. - -The industrial school for girls in Petchaburee, which has since -brought so many of the women and girls of that city under daily -Christian instruction and training in habits of neatness and industry, -commenced by Mrs. McFarland the year previous, was now an established -success. The boys’ boarding-school at Bangkok prospered under Mr. -George’s superintendence. The fall of 1866 was a season of marked -religious interest at the Bangkok station; there were several decided -cases of conversion, and a daily prayer-meeting instituted by the -converts was well sustained. - -In 1867 (October 1) the missionaries write: “During the past twelve -months more additions have been made to the native church than in all -the previous years of its history.” Eleven had been received at -Bangkok and four at Petchaburee――nine of the number pupils of the -mission-schools. - -This year (1867) was memorable as witnessing the commencement of the -Presbyterian mission in North Laos. On the 3d of January its pioneer -missionary, the Rev. Daniel McGilvary, with his family, embarked on -what was to prove a three months’ voyage up the Menam. Having, besides -the strong current of the river, no less than thirty-two decided -rapids to surmount in their boats, it was not till the 1st of April -that Cheung Mai, their destination, was reached. The king gave them a -friendly reception and provided them with a temporary home. Numbers -visited them daily, and gradually they acquired the confidence of the -people, who heard them gladly. The year following the Rev. Jonathan -Wilson and wife undertook the formidable journey, and left Bangkok to -join the McGilvarys at Cheung Mai. Not long after their arrival, -during a visit of Dr. House to the new mission, a church was organized -in that remote heathen city, with many an earnest prayer that the -“little one might become a thousand.” On his way thither over the Laos -Mountains, Dr. House had a narrow escape from death. The elephant on -which he had been riding unexpectedly turned upon him, struck him down -with its trunk and then wounded him severely whilst attempting to -transfix him with its tusks. - -In May, 1868, the Rev. P. L. Carden, who had lastly been stationed at -Petchaburee, was obliged to withdraw from the field on account of the -serious illness of his wife. This year the Rev. Samuel J. Smith and -wife (formerly Mrs. Dr. Jones), who had been so long connected with -the American Baptist Board, became self-supporting, Mr. Smith having -charge of a large printing-establishment and a weekly English -newspaper, but maintaining Sabbath preaching and other services in -Siamese, and Mrs. Smith, able and indefatigable as a teacher and -writer, doing much in the work of instruction and in other ways for -the good of Siam. - -As Mr. Chandler’s connection with the Board had been severed some ten -years before, the Siamese department of the Baptist mission ceased now -to exist. - -An unusually protracted total eclipse of the sun was to occur this -year in August, and the Siamese dominions afforded the very best place -in the world to observe it. His Majesty the king of Siam, himself a -practical astronomer and very fond of the science, generously invited -the French astronomical expedition to be his guests on the -occasion――the governor of Singapore also, and the foreigners in -Bangkok generally, including the missionaries. He went himself with -his entire court, with quite a fleet of steamers, down the west coast -of the gulf, some two hundred miles, to Hua Wan, the point selected, -where the jungle had been cleared and a bamboo palace with other -buildings had been put up, expending upon his right royal -hospitalities in the whole affair about ninety-six thousand dollars. A -malarial fever taken there brought on, not long after his return to -his capital, the death of this martyr to science, the most enlightened -of all the sovereigns of Asia. He died with Buddha’s last words as the -last upon his lips: “All that exists is unreliable.” He used to say to -the missionaries, “The sciences I receive, astronomy, geology, -chemistry,――these I receive; the Christian religion I do not receive; -many of your countrymen do not receive it.” And now he died as the -philosopher dieth, stepping out into the darkness beyond, on which -neither science nor Buddhism shed a ray-of light or gleam of comfort. -As he had chosen to live without God in the world, so he died without -hope――the blessed hope of eternal life which sustains the dying -Christian, and might have been his. In the death of the king the -missionaries lost, some of them, a kind personal friend and -“well-wisher,” as he used to sign himself, and all a friendly-disposed, -liberal-minded sovereign, who put no obstacles in the way of their -evangelizing his people. - -The king’s eldest son, Prince Chulalongkorn, then a youth of fifteen -years only, was made his successor by the unanimous choice of the -grandees of the realm. His royal father prized too highly the -knowledge and all that came to him through the study of English not to -have his heir-apparent taught that tongue. So from his early boyhood -an English governess had been provided for him and his numerous -brothers and sisters. From this accomplished lady he doubtless derived -many excellent ideas and principles, though by the terms of her -engagement she was expressly forbidden to teach Christianity to any in -the palace. After she left Siam he was for several months under the -tuition of Mr. Chandler. - -The young king won golden opinions from the missionaries――who sought -an early audience to express their condolence, congratulations and -best wishes――by his prepossessing manners, his intelligence and the -evident sincerity of his assurances of good-will. - -During his minority the affairs of the kingdom were successfully -administered by the regent, the one who had been prime minister during -the late reign――a man of great executive ability. The conservatism of -this ablest and wisest statesman of Siam was perhaps a needful check -upon what were possibly too strong tendencies toward reform in the -youthful sovereign, who would fain have abolished slavery for debt and -suppressed gambling by an immediate decree. But his minority was well -improved. He was the first ruler of Siam to break over the -superstition that would prevent his setting foot outside of his own -dominions, and before he was twenty had visited other countries――the -first year Singapore and Java; in a subsequent one, British Burmah, -Calcutta, Bombay, and other cities of British India――intelligently -observing everything, and returning with many ideas of improvements to -be made at home. - -In January, 1869, the missionaries were reinforced by the addition of -the Rev. James W. Van Dyke and the Rev. John Carrington and their -wives to the Presbyterian mission, and Rev. S. B. Partridge to the -Baptist. Mr. Van Dyke was assigned at once to the Petchaburee station -as a colleague to Mr. McFarland, then laboring alone. Mr. Carrington -remained at Bangkok, and while acquiring the language gave valuable -assistance in the school. - -At the Laos mission the brethren had much to encourage them. The king -of Cheung Mai had granted them a spacious lot of ground on the -river-bank for their homes; the gospel truth they preached was working -in the hearts of those who heard it, and one, whose heart had been won -before, when the falsity of his own sacred books’ scientific teachings -had been shown by the fulfillment of the foreign teachers’ prediction -of the great eclipse, was brave enough to renounce Buddhism and -receive Christian baptism. The name of this first convert was Nan -Intah. Others too were brought out of darkness into light, till in the -first seven months of the year 1869 seven converts were baptized. - -But a storm was gathering, soon to burst upon them. The king, a brave -warrior, but a narrow-minded, arbitrary, superstitious ruler, who had -never comprehended their true errand, though apparently friendly, when -he saw they were beginning to draw his people over to the new faith -determined to uproot it from his dominions. He first attempted to get -rid of the missionaries themselves, forwarding a complaint against -them to the authorities at Bangkok and requesting their removal. The -nature of the charge so illustrates the superstition of the people and -the character of the man that the story of it must be given. - -On the 31st of March, 1869, there was received at the U. S. consulate -a communication of which the following is a literal translation: “Chow -Phya Pooterapai, Minister of the Interior, begs to inform the acting -consul of the United States of America that Pra Chow Kawilorot, the -king of Cheung Mai, has sent down letters to Prince Hluang Hluang and -the Prime Minister and myself, the purport of all being the same――viz. -that whereas in former times the principalities of Cheung Mai and -Lampang and Lampoon had never been subject to visitation of famine, -now for two years――the year of the Tiger [1866-67] and the year of the -Rabbit [1867-68]――there has been a scarcity of rice. It is evident -that what has befallen the country is because in these lands, where no -foreigner ever before had come to live permanently, now at this time -the missionary McGilvary, who has come as a teacher of religion, had -taken up his residence in Cheung Mai. Hence these calamities have come -upon them. He, the king of Cheung Mai, begs that the consul be made to -issue an order withdrawing [lit. “pulling up”] the missionary -McGilvary and requiring his return. What is proper to be done in this -matter? You are requested to take the subject into consideration.” - -To this letter Mr. McDonald, who, singularly enough, happened to be -acting U. S. consul at that time, under date of April 1st replied -substantially as follows: “He has received the communication of His -Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs forwarding the complaint of -the king of Cheung Mai, alleging Mr. McGilvary to be the cause of the -famine in his dominions and requesting his removal. In reply he begs -to say that it strikes him as rather singular to attribute the famine -during the year of the Tiger [1866-67] to Mr. McG.’s taking up his -residence in Cheung Mai, inasmuch as the scant harvest of that year -had already been reaped before Mr. McG. had arrived, or even left -Bangkok to go up to Cheung Mai, for it was not till Jan. 3, 1867, that -he set out on his journey. And this year [1868-69], though Mr. McG. is -still at Cheung Mai, we have tidings of an abundant harvest there. -Moreover, in 1865-66, Korat and other towns in that quarter -experienced a severe famine, and yet no foreigner had ever resided in -that region of country. Orders will be given to Mr. McGilvary so to -deport himself that no famine can be attributed to him hereafter; but -as to his (the consul’s) being required to withdraw Mr. McG. and -constrain him to return, it would be manifestly wrong. His Excellency -(the Minister of the Interior) and the Siamese government gave consent -to Mr. McG.’s going up to Cheung Mai, and he went on the invitation of -the king of Cheung Mai himself also. Moreover, he has expended on the -removal of his family and goods no small amount of money. That he (the -consul) should be asked to recall Mr. McG., and constrain him to -return, without any transgression of the laws alleged against him――in -fact, without any reason whatever――would not be right. The consul -trusts His Excellency will duly consider this matter, and that his -views may accord with what is just and right in the case.” - -The Minister of the Interior in his reply, dated April 3d, states that -“his views coincide with the consul’s. Mr. McG. had in no respect -offended against any of the laws of the country. His Excellency has -some solicitude about the matter, however, inasmuch as the king of -Cheung Mai is a difficult man to deal with, being often arbitrary and -unscrupulous. He is constrained to say this much, that the consul may -be apprised of the true state of things.” - -The warning was kindly given, but at Cheung Mai the king, failing in -this attempt to have the foreign teachers expelled, concealed his -hostility to them and their work, and outwardly all went on as usual. -Meanwhile, the truth was working in the hearts of not a few who heard -it, and the truth made them brave to confess their newfound Lord and -Saviour. In seven months from the time when Nan Intah had been -received six more Laos men had professed themselves Christians and -been baptized. Then suddenly the storm that had been long gathering -burst upon the infant church. On the 12th Sept., 1869, two of the -newly-made converts were seized by orders from the king on some false -pretext, painfully pinioned, and after a night’s imprisonment, without -trial, barbarously put to death, being beaten with clubs on the neck, -one of them pierced also with a spear. “Faithful unto death,” who can -doubt they have received from the Lord Jesus, to whom dying they -commended their departing spirits, the crown of life, the martyr’s -crown, for they were as true martyrs as any who were slain in the -cruel Nero’s day? The other five church-members, taking flight, -contrived to secrete themselves from those who “sought their lives to -destroy them.” - -The situation of the missionaries themselves was now perilous in the -extreme. They and their wives and their little ones were in the hands -of a merciless, self-willed, reckless, bigoted despot, who hated them -and their doctrines, and were five hundred miles away from consular or -other aid. Succeeding at last in getting a letter to their friends at -Bangkok, the brethren of the mission, startled by the tidings, and not -knowing indeed if the Laos missionaries were yet in the land of the -living, hastened to lay the matter before the regent. He kindly -promised to despatch a special commissioner to Cheung Mai at once with -any missionaries that might go, with stringent orders that the -missionaries there and their families receive from the Laos -authorities the protection the treaty between Siam and the United -States guaranteed them. He declined, however, to interfere in behalf -of the native Christians. - -Messrs. McDonald and George bravely volunteered on behalf of the -mission to go to the comfort and aid of their brethren in peril, and -set out on the long journey, proceeding by boat to Rahang, thence -traveling over the Laos mountains on elephants with the Siamese -commissioner and his attendants. In a stormy interview which the -missionaries had with the king in the presence of the commissioner he -was forced to admit that the two men had been put to death because -they had become Christians, and he avowed his set purpose “to kill all -his people who should do the same.” As to the missionaries, “they -might remain, as the Siamese government had so ordered, but they must -not teach religion nor make Christians.” - -The future of the Laos misson did indeed look dark, and there seemed -to be no alternative but to withdraw from the land while this king -reigned. But he who was thus “breathing out threatenings and -slaughter” speedily had his power for evil taken from him and was -called to his account by a higher Power. Soon after, during a visit he -made early in the year 1870 to Bangkok to attend the imposing -ceremonies at the cremation of his late suzerain, the king of Siam, he -was taken ill. His sickness increasing, he hastened home, but did not -live to enter again the walls of his capital, and the supreme power -passed into the hands of the second king, his son-in-law, who from the -first, with his truly noble queen, had been kindly disposed to the -missionaries. - -In February, 1870, Mr. McDonald, whose health had become seriously -impaired, found it necessary to visit the United States, and left Siam -with his family. A young Siamese who accompanied them, giving evidence -of true conversion, was baptized by Mr. McDonald during his sojourn in -America. - -In April, 1871, Mrs. House was obliged to make a trip for a season to -the more temperate clime of the United States, and, leaving her -husband at his post, returned alone. This year C. W. Vrooman, M. D., -was sent out as a medical missionary to the Laos. Proceeding to Cheung -Mai after the rains, during his stay of a year and a half he -accomplished a good work for the mission. Oct. 11, 1871, Miss Fielde -of the Baptist mission to the Chinese left Siam, eventually to join -the mission of the Board in Swatow, China. - -Toward the close of this year Mr. McDonald and family returned to -Siam, and with them the Rev. R. Arthur and wife, the Rev. J. -Culbertson and Miss E. S. Dickey. Miss Dickey proved a most efficient -and acceptable teacher in the mission-school at Bangkok, and -subsequently at Petchaburee. The last day of 1871 brought back to -Siam, his native land, the Rev. Cornelius Bradley and wife, to be -associated with his father in the mission-work of the American -Missionary Association. - -In June, 1872, Ayuthia, the ancient capital of Siam, and still a town -of considerable importance, was occupied as a missionary station by -the Rev. J. Carrington and family, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur joining them -before the expiration of the year. At Petchaburee their new chapel was -dedicated with interesting services in August. In October, 1872, -twenty church-members were reported at Petchaburee, and eighteen at -Bangkok. In December, Mrs. House returned from her health-trip to -America, accompanied by Miss Arabella Anderson. - -The women of the Presbyterian Church at home were now waking up to -realize their special privilege and duty to work and give and pray for -the women and children of benighted heathen lands. The ladies of the -Troy branch of the Albany Synodical Missionary Society, from which two -laborers had gone out to Siam, becoming thus particularly interested -in that country, had undertaken to establish a female boarding-school -at Bangkok, and raised three thousand dollars for that purpose. A -little before this a lot of ground on the west bank of the river, -nearly opposite the palace of the second king, some five miles above -the lower station, had been secured by the mission, and a -dwelling-house partially completed on it. Mr. and Mrs. George, who -were to have occupied it as a new station, having to return to the -home-land, Mrs. George’s health failing, the Board tendered the place -and the building to the Troy ladies for their school purposes, on -condition of their investing their own funds in the building and -completing it. They accordingly took possession, Dr. and Mrs. House -and Miss Anderson occupying it in December, 1873. The school was -opened in May, 1874, in charge of Mrs. House and Miss Anderson, and by -the close of the year had a large number of boarding pupils, some of -them noblemen’s daughters. - -The year 1873 witnessed a great diminution of the number of the -missionaries of the Presbyterian Board. In January the Rev. S. C. -George, after eleven years’ service as teacher, preacher and -translator, left with Mrs. George, as has been already stated. -February 8th the Rev. S. G. McFarland and his wife, after twelve and a -half years of faithful and exhausting but successful labor for this -heathen people’s good, sought their much-needed and well-earned rest -in their native land. April 19th the Rev. D. McGilvary of the Laos -mission, who had been nearly fifteen years in the field, sailed from -Bangkok with his family to revisit his friends and the churches in the -United States. By the same steamer Miss Dickey also left, to find in -the North China mission a more congenial climate. Aug. 12th, Dr. -Vrooman sailed, having withdrawn from the Laos mission in June. Aug. -25th the Arthurs embarked for the United States, Mrs. Arthur’s health -having failed entirely. - -But the great loss to Siam this year was by the death of the -missionary of longest service in the field――the Rev. D. B. Bradley, M. -D., who rested from his unceasing and varied labors for Siam and the -Siamese, continued for thirty-nine years with undiminished faith and -zeal, on the 23d of June. - -During the months of June and July the cholera prevailed, carrying off -in twenty days over five thousand victims, among them the eldest son -of Mr. McDonald. In November, Maa Tuan, the eldest daughter of -Quakieng, the former Chinese assistant, was received to church -membership; two of his sons were afterward admitted. A translation of -_Pilgrim’s Progress_, made by the native elder of the Bangkok church, -was printed this year and was in large demand. - -The recoronation of the king took place in November, he having now -obtained his majority. On taking the reins of government into his own -hands, prompted by his own noble instincts, his inherited love of -progress and sincere desire for the good of his people, he boldly -ventured upon reforms that were startling to his old courtiers, and -indeed to all who had known Old Siam. His coronation-day was marked by -the abolition of the degrading custom practiced for centuries of -requiring those of inferior rank to crouch and crawl on all fours like -spaniels in the presence of their superiors. A still more remarkable -change he sought to introduce was the giving up of some of his -absolute power as sovereign, by creating a council of state and also a -privy council, before whom all public measures were to be brought and -discussed and approved before they could be decreed by the king as -laws. In carrying out these and other well-planned reforms he -received, however, but little sympathy from the old ex-regent and his -party. - -In 1874, to the great regret of all, the Rev. C. B. Bradley was -compelled to leave the, to him, debilitating climate of Siam. With his -family he embarked for California March 8th. Upon his departure the -American Missionary Association withdrew altogether from the field, -making over to the family of Dr. Bradley the mission premises and the -printing-establishment. This last, in fact, had been built up by the -energy and skill and labor of Dr. Bradley, and its earnings had for -many years more than paid all the expenses of the mission. - -The Presbyterian Board was now the only Board left to provide for the -spiritual needs of the Siamese people. Would that the Church whose -agent that Board is could be made to realize the blessedness of the -privilege committed to her if improved, and the responsibility she -incurs if unfaithful to her duty to these myriads of dying men and -women! - -Mr. Carrington too was forced by protracted illness in his family to -take his final leave of Siam. - -In the fall of 1874, Mr. and Mrs. McGilvary of the Laos mission, -returning from their visit to America, arrived in Bangkok, and, being -joined by Marion A. Cheek, M. D., the newly-appointed medical -missionary to these people, who came out by a later steamer early in -1875, embarked for their remote post at Cheung Mai. - -Under Dr. Cheek’s escort Miss Mary L. Cort and Miss Susie D. Grimstead -had come to join the Siam mission. Both were assigned to the station -at Petchaburee. There Miss Cort has remained ever since, in labors -abundant and manifold and with zeal and courage untiring. - -Among the converts reported in 1875 was one long in the employ of the -different missions as a printer, who had hardened his heart against -the truths he had through the press helped make known to others, and -grown old in sin, now constrained to yield to those truths and enter -on a Christian life. Two sons of the old native Chinese assistant, -Quakieng, who died in 1859, were also received, and the younger became -a candidate for the ministry. - -In April, Mrs. McDonald embarked for the United States with her -children, to provide for their education there, her husband remaining -at his post, preaching, superintending the press and translating the -Scriptures of the Old Testament. - -Oct. 19, 1875, the Rev. S. G. McFarland and Mrs. McFarland returned to -Siam, and with them came the Rev. Eugene P. Dunlap and wife. On their -way down the China Sea they encountered a typhoon and for many hours -were in imminent danger. - -Dr. Cheek was married in December to Miss Sarah A. Bradley, daughter -of the late Rev. D. B. Bradley, M. D., and in February, 1876, Miss -Arabella Anderson was married to the Rev. Henry V. Noyes of the -Presbyterian mission in Canton, and left with him, to return to Siam -no more. The place she had so well filled in the girls’ boarding-school -at Bangkok was taken by Miss Grimstead. The number of pupils then in -attendance was twenty. - -The health of Mrs. House had now become so seriously impaired by eight -months’ continuance of severe attacks of asthma that her longer stay -in Siam was out of the question, and she was reluctantly obliged to -hand over to others her cherished work of female education and the -school for girls, now in successful operation. With like regret did -her husband leave the people and the country for whose good nearly -thirty years of his life had been given. Dr. and Mrs. H. left for home -in March, 1876, taking with them two Siamese lads of eleven to be -educated in the United States under their care. - -Their departure made necessary the coming over of Mr. and Mrs. Van -Dyke from Petchaburee to take charge of the upper station at Bangkok -and assist Miss Grimstead in the management of the girls’ school. This -same year, in June, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, with health quite broken by -exhausting labor in their Laos mission, had to go to the United States -to rest and recover strength. Mr. W. improved the opportunity to -procure in America the casting of a font of Laos type――no easy task. -At Cheung Mai this year the widow of one of the martyrs was baptized -with her two daughters, and Nan Intah, the first Laos convert, had the -happiness of seeing his wife and son-in-law received to the church, -and not long after two daughters and a son. - -In 1877 the first Siamese convert baptized in the Presbyterian -mission, Nai Chune, was called to depart. He died as one who “_knew_ -in whom he believed,” and said in parting from the missionary friend -who visited him, “I must go first, but I will be waiting at the gate -to welcome the rest of you when you come.” This year Mr. McDonald -rejoined his family in the United States, returning with them the year -following. The state of Miss Grimstead’s health compelled her return -to America and the severance of her connection with the Board. The -native churches received large accessions during the year, thirteen -being added to the Bangkok church, twenty to the Petchaburee and ten -to the church at Cheung Mai, making the total number of communicants -in Siam one hundred and four, and in Laos nineteen. The king of Siam -manifested his interest in the work of female education by the -generous gift of a thousand dollars toward the building for this -purpose the mission was erecting at Petchaburee. This sum was -handsomely supplemented by twelve hundred and sixty dollars more, -contributed by some of the higher princes and nobles. - -Early in the year 1878 the Rev. J. M. McCanby arrived, and Miss Jennie -Korsen――the last to take Miss Grimstead’s place in the girls’ -boarding-school. The Rev. S. G. McFarland, D. D., withdrew this year -from his connection with the mission, having been invited by His -Majesty to take the presidency of the newly-planned King’s College at -Bangkok. The mission press during the twelve months, under Mr. -Culbertson’s energetic supervision, issued over a million pages of -Scripture and other truth. - -In October, 1878, Mr. Wilson, leaving Mrs. W. in America, as her -health did not admit of her accompanying him, embarked on his return, -and under his escort three lady missionary teachers――Miss Belle -Caldwell for Siam, and Miss Edna S. Cole and Miss Mary Campbell for -the Laos. Miss Korsen becoming Mrs. McCauley and removing to the lower -station to assist her husband in charge of the boys’ school, Miss -Caldwell took her place at the school for girls. The boys’ school -under the McCauleys had a membership of fifty-five, and good progress -was made in study. - -An appeal having been made to the king of Siam by the missionaries to -the Laos in behalf of certain oppressed native Christians, he was -graciously pleased to issue (Sept. 29, 1878) a proclamation -establishing religious toleration in Laos, and by implication -throughout all his dominions. - -Under the direction of the Presbytery of Siam two new churches were -organized this year――one at the upper station of Bangkok, the other at -Bangkaboon, a fishing-village near Petchaburee. The native Christians -at Bangkok by their contributions provided for the erection of a house -for the native preacher at Ayuthia, and the entire support of another -assistant there. The total church-membership in Siam now was one -hundred and thirty-three, and in Laos thirty-one. - -Miss Mary E. Hartwell, who arrived with the McDonalds early in 1879, -assisted Miss Caldwell in the girls’ boarding-school, and Miss Hattie -H. McDonald, who was now under appointment as a missionary teacher, -taught in the boys’ school, which came under her father’s supervision -when the McCauleys, who had been in charge, were compelled to remove -to Petchaburee by the departure thence, in consequence of their -failing health, of Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap, who had been there of late. -The Dunlaps returned to the United States in November. - -The lady teachers at Petchaburee, Misses Coffman and Cort, had then -under their care seven different schools in and near that city, -numbering nearly two hundred pupils. At Cheung Mai the new missionary -teachers soon had in the school there, which Mrs. McGilvary had -commenced, twenty-five girls, eighteen of whom were boarding pupils. -Eighteen Laotian converts were reported this year. The Laos king, -finding the premises of the mission too limited, bought an adjacent -lot and generously presented it to the mission. - -In February, 1880, Mr. Culbertson was married to Miss Caldwell. In -August, Ernest A. Sturge, M. D., sailed for Siam as a medical -missionary, to be stationed at Petchaburee, and later in the year the -Board sent out to the Siam mission the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. C. S. -McClelland, with Miss Laura A. Olmstead. Miss Olmstead became Miss -Hartwell’s associate in the girls’ school, and the McClellands went to -Petchaburee. Mr. McCauley’s constitution not enduring a tropical -climate, he had, with his wife, to be transferred this year to the -mission of the Presbyterian Board in Japan. The state of Mrs. -McGilvary’s health made a visit to the United States necessary for -her, and at the close of the year Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke and family, -all seriously ill, after nearly twelve years’ residence in the -tropics, made their first visit home. - -The boys’ school, under Miss H. H. McDonald, numbered sixty-seven, of -whom forty were boarding scholars. Notwithstanding the sad defection -of the native elder in the First Church, Bangkok, and the absence for -a while of any ordained missionary at Petchaburee, twenty-five new -converts were reported in Siam this year. To the church in Laos -thirty-nine were added, and in July a new church was constituted in -the midst of a cluster of villages about nine miles from Cheung Mai. -The Laos school, under Miss Cole’s care chiefly, now numbered -thirty-five, of whom twenty-two were boarders. Dr. McGilvary spent -several months this year at the frontier town of Rahang, where two -professed conversion, and in October he baptized six adults and -organized a church in Lakon, one of the chief cities of North Laos, -one hundred miles east of Cheung Mai. - -In 1881, Mr. and Mrs. Culbertson left the field, Mrs. C. having lost -her health, and Dr. McGilvary in March left Cheung Mai to rejoin his -family in the United States. But one ordained missionary able to -preach in the native language was now left in Siam, and one in Laos. -Nor were any reinforcements sent out this year from home, though one -in the field, Miss Mary McDonald, the second daughter of the Rev. N. -A. McDonald, D. D., was appointed a missionary teacher. The new -missionaries at Petchaburee and the lady teachers there were greatly -tried by the contumacy and unchristian conduct of their oldest native -helper and other church-members, and they suffered severely at the -station from cholera, which prevailed as an epidemic. No less than -thirty-two pupils and others on the mission premises were attacked by -it. Dr. Sturge was the means of saving many lives in the town and -vicinity. - -The untimely death of Miss Mary Campbell of the Laos mission, by -drowning in the Menam River, in February of this year, on her return -from a brief health-trip to Bangkok, brought sadness to many hearts in -America as well as in Siam. - -And yet the year was not devoid of blessings. The schools prospered. -Two useful Christian tracts in Siamese, composed by native -church-members, were put in circulation. Dr. Sturge in September was -married to Miss Turner, who became a valuable accession to the station -at Petchaburee. One new church was formed in the Laos country, and no -less than fifty adults received Christian baptism there. - -In 1882 the Laos mission were called to part with their first Laos -convert, long a model ruling elder, good old Nan Intah. Faithful and -true, with a beautiful, loving trust in his Saviour, he bade his -children and grandchildren a cheerful farewell, and went to be with -Christ. Dr. Cheek’s medical practice was this year greatly enlarged -and very successful. About thirteen thousand patients were prescribed -for, and thus much was done to break up their confidence in -spirit-doctors and their superstitious fears. Twenty-three were added -to the Laos churches. - -In the Siam mission the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. McClelland were, by reason -of his continued illness, forced to give up their mission-work and -return to the United States. Miss Coffman and Miss Hattie McDonald -also were obliged to return in consequence of ill-health. The whole -burden of the schools in Petchaburee fell now upon Miss Cort. Dr. -Sturge treated four thousand five hundred and fifty-two cases――twice -the number of the previous year――and with the funds raised, mostly by -himself, had built a small hospital. The girls’ school, Bangkok, had -thirty-seven names on its roll. An exhibit of their skill and -industry, prepared for the Royal Centennial Exposition that came off -this year in commemoration of the founding of Bangkok, so pleased His -Majesty the king that he became the purchaser of the whole. - -The greatly-needed reinforcements to the missions came this year, and -several who had been home to recruit their health returned. Mr. Van -Dyke sailed in July, leaving his wife with her children. In October, -Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap gladly went back to their work in Siam, and with -them, for the Siam mission, the Rev. C. D. and Mrs. McLaren and Miss -Lillian M. Luinell. By the same Pacific mail-steamer went Rev. Dr. -McGilvary and wife on their return to Laos, and as new recruits for -that field the Rev. J. Hearst and wife, the Rev. S. G. Peoples and the -Misses Griffin, Wirt, Wishard and Warner. On reaching Bangkok, the -whole party were very graciously received by the king, of whom they -obtained, through the U. S. minister to Siam, General Halderman, an -audience, and on December 13th the large company for Cheung Mai was on -its way up the river. The Baptist mission to the Chinese, that had now -for years been maintained in successful operation by the veteran -missionaries Dr. and Mrs. Dean, unaided save by native helpers, was at -last reinforced by the arrival of the Rev. L. A. Eaton, Dec. 15, 1882. -Mrs. Maria M. Dean, who for the benefit of her feeble health had been -constrained to leave her husband alone and visit the States in the -spring of 1881, was on the eve of returning to Siam when she was -suddenly called (January 16, 1883) to exchange earth for heaven. - -The joy of those in the field at such a welcome addition to their -number as the opening year had brought them was, however, soon -diminished. In March, only four months after his arrival in Bangkok, -Mr. McLaren was snatched away by death, to the great regret of all, -for he was a man of unusual promise. The Laos party suffered greatly -from sickness after they reached Cheung Mai. Mr. Hearst was so -prostrated by malarial fever that he was obliged to leave the Laos -country, and, before the year was out, Siam itself for China and -Japan. In the latter country his health so greatly improved that he -hopes to remain and labor there. Dr. Cheek, with strength exhausted by -his long and arduous labors, greatly needed change and rest, and with -his family and Miss Edna Cole, whose health had become quite impaired, -left Siam for a visit to the United States, arriving in New York in -September, 1883. - -Rev. Mr. Fulton of the Presbyterian mission in Canton was married to -Miss Wishard, and toward the close of the year 1883, Mr. Peoples of -Cheung Mai to Miss Wirt, and Miss Luinell to Mr. S. Gross, a layman in -the employ of the Petchaburee mission. - -The number of the communicants reported in the four churches connected -with the Siam mission at the close of 1882 was 148; in the five -connected with the Laos mission, 144, of whom 23 were received during -the year; total, 292. There were many additions to this number during -the year 1883. Petchaburee especially was favored with quite a revival -of interest in spiritual matters. The faithful discipline that had -been exercised in the church there the year previous, and the zealous -labors of Mr. Dunlap, who returned followed and upheld by the prayers -of many of the Christian women of America whom his earnest words had -interested in his work while at home, resulted in the penitential -return of many wanderers and in the addition of 56 communicants during -the ten months preceding October 1st. - -One more mission family was sent out during the year 1883――the Rev. -Chalmers Martin and wife, who, embarking for the East from New York -Sept. 29th, re-embarked in January, 1884, at Bangkok, on a native -river-boat for the distant station at Cheung Mai. - -In reviewing the history of the mission-work in the kingdom of Siam -well may the Christian Church――the Presbyterian Church in -particular――“thank God and take courage.” Buried in the deepest -shadows of heathenish night, it long seemed as if the day of Siam’s -awaking to welcome the light of the gospel would never dawn. But it -came at last. The Lord had a people there whom he would call to the -knowledge of himself, and there were men and women “willing to endure -all things for the elect’s sake,” assured through all those years of -almost utter barrenness that they or some one would yet “reap if they -fainted not;” and then the Board, with everything to discourage it, -_never gave up_, and so reinforcements were sent out and new fields -opened and manned, and schools for girls as well as boys established -and maintained, and the translation of the Bible carried on to -completion, and Christian hymnals prepared, and catechisms and tracts, -and the printing-press kept busy, and its issues distributed far and -wide in city and hamlet, along the many rivers and canals, and the -gospel message preached in mission-chapels and idol-temples and by the -wayside, till now (1884) the truth has taken root in the land, and -there are in the nine Christian churches in Siam and Laos, as we have -seen, more than three hundred and fifty men and women, once idolaters -and without hope in the world, who know the true God and love and try -to serve him, and who rejoice, as we do, in hope of eternal life -through Jesus Christ his Son. - - - - -PART IV. - -LAOS. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -_LAOS LAND AND LIFE._ - - -You will read in the following pages of a people about whom little is -known and less published――a people possessing many qualities of -remarkable attractiveness, and yet having not a few strange and -semi-barbarous customs and beliefs; a people who seem in some respects -to be peculiarly open to the influence of Christian teaching, and upon -whose soil the Christian Church is rooted and growing; a people among -whom the Lord assuredly has “chosen ones” who are hearing his voice -one by one and answering to his call. - -You will read of their land, their homes, their temples, their -worship, their lives and occupations. And of all these you will be -told by those who have lived among them, who have learned to -know――yes, and to love them, seeing the precious souls within as the -sculptor sees the beautiful statue within the rough block of marble. - - -CHARACTER AND GOVERNMENT. - -Some few points are especially to be noticed as general characteristics -of the Laos. They are a kind, affectionate people, caring much for -their family-life and morally superior to the races around them. By -some they are supposed to be the original stock from which came the -present Siamese race, but they have mingled their blood with so many -tribes, and their country is divided into so many small kingdoms or -provinces, that it is difficult to find any marked traces of a -distinct nationality among them. - -[Illustration: CORONATION OF A LAOS KING.] - -There are six Laos states directly tributary to Siam――viz. Lakon, -Lampoon, Cheung Mai, Muang Nan, Hluang Prabang and Muang Prai. All are -independent of each other, but there are smaller provinces tributary -to these larger states, yet the rulers even of the minor provinces are -autocratic in rule within their own territories. Each of the six -larger states has a first and second chief, the offices being filled -by appointment of the king of Siam, to whom there is a right of appeal -on the part of the people, who send notice to Bangkok on the decease -of a chief, with a private intimation of their views as to a -successor. Tribute is paid triennially to Siam in the form of gold and -silver boxes, vases and jeweled necklaces, together with curious gold -and silver trees valued at from 15_l._ to 135_l._ each. - -The rulers of these provinces are called _khiao_, and they are -invested with their office by the use of a gold dish, betel-box, -spittoon and teapot, all of which are sent from Bangkok for the -occasion, and returned thither when they die or are deposed from the -throne. - -The picture on the opposite page represents the coronation of the -_khiao_ of one of the most important of the Laos provinces in the -East. The ceremony is thus described: - -“On the morning of the appointed day there was an uproar of drums and -gongs and other unmusical instruments. The noisy orchestra surrounded -the palace, while the royal procession wound through the streets and -defiled into the square or market-place. Mounted upon an elephant of -great size, which was armed with a pair of formidable tusks, the king -made his appearance, encircled by guards on foot and on horseback and -attended by his great dignitaries mounted like himself. A train of -smaller elephants followed carrying the court ladies. The cortège -finally directed its course to some spacious pavilions erected for the -purpose, where the bonzes of the royal pagoda were offering up their -prayers. A few minutes passed, and another tableau was presented. The -king was seen enthroned in the largest pavilion. He arose, and, -escorted by his principal officers, advanced into the middle of a wide -platform, where the bonzes, still uttering their prayers, gathered -about him. He threw off his clothes, replacing them by a mantle of -white cloth. Then the bonzes drew apart, so as to open up a passage -for him, and he proceeded to place himself, with his body bent into a -curve, immediately underneath the sacred dragon. Prayers were -recommenced, and the king received the anointing or consecrating -_douche_, while a dignitary who stood at one corner of the dais set -free a couple of turtle-doves as a sign that all creation, down even -to the animals, should be happy on so auspicious a day. When the water -which was contained in the dragon’s body had completely douched the -royal person, new garments were brought, over which was thrown a large -white robe, and he returned to his place in the centre of the hall. A -grand banquet of rice and cucumbers and eggs and pork and delicious -bananas, washed down by copious draughts of rice-wine, concluded the -day’s proceedings, and in the evening the town was lighted up with -fireworks, while bands of singers and musicians traversed the -streets.” - -The whole country belongs nominally to these chiefs, who grant certain -districts to the numerous princes and nobles. These tax the common -people heavily――one bucket of rice for every bucket planted――and there -are also taxes on pork, fish, betel-nuts, bamboo and――gambling! The -chiefs appoint an officer to gather the taxes in each hamlet, and by -fair means or foul the uttermost farthing is squeezed out of the -poorer classes. - -The greatest reverence is paid to these princes and officials by the -people, who never venture to name them without their titles in -conversation, and when in the presence of a superior show their -humility by crouching before them. A noble or wealthy Laos gentleman -or lady never makes a call, or goes out for even a short walk, without -a full retinue of attendants and slaves bearing the betel-box, -umbrella, water-jar, sword, seal and other signs of wealth and rank. - -Besides captives taken in war and their descendants, there are great -numbers of slave-debtors, under obligation to serve their creditor -until they can repay the debt incurred, capital and interest. These -are usually well treated, and can recover freedom at any time if the -debt is discharged by themselves or a friend. - - -RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CUSTOMS. - -While the Laos people are Buddhists, devout and faithful to all the -requirements of that system, they are also true worshipers of nature, -believing in spirits of earth, air and water, making frequent -offerings to these and having some beautiful customs of worship -connected with them. It would seem as if this phase of their religious -life grew out of a sort of longing in their affectionate hearts for -something less cold and distant――something closer and more accessible -to them――than Buddhist teachings could give, and that, moved by this -craving, they have turned to the spirit-world with its unseen but -possibly near ministrations. - -A few of their religious customs are interesting, and remarkable -enough to deserve here some special mention. Dr. McGilvary gives the -following account of one of their ceremonies: - -“The full moon of the fourth Laos month, which usually occurs in -January, witnesses a strange Laos custom. It is called by two names, -signifying ‘The Warming of Buddh’ and the ‘Offering of New Kow Lam’ to -the priests. About daylight on the morning of the full moon bonfires -are kindled in the temple-grounds, at which are assembled a larger -number than usual of worshipers. It is the cool season of the year, -when the mornings are uncomfortably cold, but no one dares to warm -himself by the bonfires on that morning. They are sacred to Buddh, and -are kindled for his special benefit, and he, too, is presumed to be -cold. When the fires are lighted, incense-tapers are taken by the -priests, who go inside of the temple and prostrate themselves before -the idols, and invite _them_ to come out and be warmed by the sacred -fires. It is a sham invitation, however, as they are not carried out, -and they cannot of course come out themselves. - -“It shows the inconsistent, incoherent and contradictory notions that -a false religion fosters. If Buddh is a god, why should he be cold at -all? Or if cold, why can’t he warm himself? Or why cold on that -morning? Or does the heat of the little bonfires continue during the -whole cool season? And how does it consist with Buddh’s annihilation? -According to theory, he has attained Nipan, a state of utter -unconsciousness of either happiness or misery. How, then, can he feel -the sensation of cold? Or if he does, and can’t warm himself, how can -he be a refuge to others? - -“We presume that the real explanation of the custom, however, may be -sought from the second name mentioned above, and that the important -part of the ceremony is the Kow Lam that follows. That is glutinous -rice, on which the Laos principally live, put in joints of the bamboo -and roasted over a fire till it is done. It is very palatable, and on -this morning must always be made of the first-fruits of the new -rice-crop. They feast on it then for a number of days. Every religious -ceremony has its appropriate offerings to the priests, and this one, -like the others, fills _them_ with good things, and it matters but -little then whether Buddh remains cold or becomes hot.” - -The Rev. J. Wilson thus tells of an appeal to the gods in time of -drought: - -“Many of the people are almost in a panic from the scarcity of rice. A -year ago there was very little rain in the first part of the season, -but the latter rain was so abundant as to overflow the fields to such -a depth as to drown the rice. Consequently, the main crop of the year -proved an entire failure. Rice has been and is now very dear, so that -many of the poor have great difficulty in obtaining a sufficiency to -support life. From the king down to the owner of the smallest patch of -ground, all have been earnestly engaged in trying to call down the -rain. The king, with his retinue of princes and servants, has ascended -the mountain that lies some three miles west of the city to drench -with water the pagoda and the principal idols of a temple that stands -upon one of the mountain’s peaks. Only a few days ago a procession of -one hundred priests climbed the mountain for a similar service. The -temples of Buddh, especially on the sacred days, are vocal with the -sound of drums and the incantations of the worshipers who have brought -their offerings to the idols to buy rain with merit. The execution of -some convicts was hastened as a propitiatory sacrifice to the -rain-producing powers.” - -At another time, when the season had been favorable, the thanksgiving -is described by the same hand, as follows: - -“The rice-crop this year is a bountiful one, and the people are -rejoicing over it. The second king came in from the country on Sabbath -morning. He had been out in his fields threshing his rice. Returning, -he arranged for the yearly procession that is made at the close of the -harvest. The first gong had rung for our religious service just as the -procession reached the lower compound. The noise of bells on the -elephants and the chanting of the riders, together with the music made -by the king’s band, made it necessary for us to delay the ringing of -the second gong until after the procession had passed. I had not -supposed it was to be so great an affair. A large number of elephants -had passed before I began to count, but I counted one hundred and ten -as they passed along one by one. I was told there were one hundred and -seventy in the procession. One of the largest wore trappings of the -brightest silver. The howdahs contained rice. All these were decorated -with green branches. The procession was in honor of the guardian -spirits that preside over the rice-crop. Those that could see the -procession in its whole length considered it the most imposing one -that has passed for years. - -[Illustration: A LAOS FUNERAL.] - -“About six weeks――including parts of March and April――are annually -given up almost wholly to idolatrous worship, much of which consists -in efforts to propitiate spirits. The spirit of the river upon which -most of their commerce is carried on is propitiated by a floral -offering. Tiny boats are filled with the choicest flowers, carried to -the river’s edge, and tapers arranged by which to illuminate the -little barks. At a certain hour after dark a signal is given, and -simultaneously thousands of these little boats are launched and go -sailing down the stream. Aside from its being an act of idolatry, it -is a most brilliant and beautiful sight and one that excites our -highest admiration.” - -In Laos, when a person dies, a precious stone or coin is sometimes -placed in the mouth of the corpse to pay the spirit-fine into the next -world. Afterward the body is cremated with ceremonies similar to those -of Siam. Men are laid with faces downward, and women on their backs, -for cremation. When a chief dies, men are hired to engage in a -pugilistic encounter in honor of the event. - - -MERIT-MAKING. - -It has been frequently stated in the last few years that no _new_ -temples are built in heathen lands, the old crumbling ones being -merely patched up for temporary use, if not allowed to fall into -absolute ruin. But the testimony of missionaries, who see much more of -these things than do passing travelers, does not bear out this -statement. As evidence of the zeal and activity with which an old -temple is sometimes restored and a new one planned when merit is to be -made thereby, the following is given: - -“The princes and people of Cheung Mai are all astir in the work of -merit-making. Just now it takes the form of rebuilding the finest -temple that was erected in Cheung Mai, and in gathering and shaping -materials for the replacing, three or four months hence, of the temple -on the top of the mountain with a new structure. All the sawyers of -the city are on duty. Priests and people are busy with saw and chisel -and adze and plane. The large public courtyard is full of timber and -workmen. A new king has come upon the throne, and the way to a long -and successful reign must be sought in the building of these new -memorials to Buddha. How strange and how sad it all seems! But the -_people_ are not sad. For while their hands are busy their tongues are -busy too, and the frequent merry laugh tells of the joyous heart. They -boast themselves in their work. The chief priests of the temples are -there――one time passing among the workmen giving directions, then -seated in groups upon their mats, spread sometimes in the large -_sala_, and sometimes on the green sward, under the shelter of the -bamboo matting and the leaf-awnings that have been stretched above the -workmen. They are treated by all with the greatest reverence. The day -is theirs, for in every honor shown to Buddha they have a share. Every -day does the king come from his palace to inspect the work and to -testify his interest in it. His highest noblemen, and even princes, -consider it a privilege and an honor to help to frame the timbers for -these temples. And so the work goes on, and Buddha is remembered. - -“Yesterday I passed through the temple that is so soon to be refitted. -The walls of the old building had been taken down and removed. The -foundation of the floor still remained. The principal idols were -occupying their old places. The smaller ones were sitting in groups -under the shade of the trees. The larger ones cannot be removed, but -have been covered with split bamboo to prevent injury while the -building is going up. The smaller ones are waiting patiently until the -temple is completed and they are carried back to their places. - -“The building just removed was put up nearly a hundred years ago, and -with occasional patching has lasted until now. And what will be the -history of the new one? Will Buddhists worship their idols there a -hundred years to come? Will the darkness abide so long in the Laos -land? Or shall it have crumbled into ruins and temples for the worship -of the living God have risen up around it?” - -Another of their innumerable ways of making merit is mentioned by Dr. -McGilvary: - -“We visited a great cave at Cheung Dow that forms the subject of one -of their sacred books. It had never been examined beyond a certain -stream of water believed to be impassable. But if any one had merit -enough to cross, there would be found an idol ten feet high of solid -gold with golden vestments in which to visit the city of the Yaks, -which was still farther in. There, too, was the seat of Chow Kam -Daang, one of their greatest spirits. As it was not so convenient for -me to cross the water――which was not a deep stream, however――I had Nan -Intah cross it, and still another little pond of water, with no signs, -of course, of the golden idol or the city of Yak, which was our main -object in visiting the cave. The cave is nevertheless a fine one, and -in itself worthy of a visit.” - - -LANGUAGE. - -Although the Laos understand the Siamese spoken languages, and many of -them can read the written characters also, the mass of the people are -unable to do the latter. Hence it is a matter of great interest and -importance to give them the Bible and other books in the Laos tongue. -Funds were collected in America some years ago, by the Women’s Foreign -Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church, for the purpose of -making the type and having the Laos Bible printed. There has been -delay in the full accomplishment of this object, owing to the absence -from the country of some of the few missionaries who could superintend -it, and because also of some unexpected difficulties in the way; but -it is believed now that the work will very soon be done, and the -people be supplied with the Bible in their own tongue. They are -themselves eager to read and quick to learn. - - -CHEUNG MAI. - -The Laos capital is a walled city a mile square and surrounded by a -moat, situated on the Maping River, one of the chief branches of the -Menam. Little hamlets of bamboo houses usually make up the towns of -the Laos country, but Cheung Mai has a brick wall around it, and is -much more of a city in size and appearance. The following description -of the view from the mission-house near by will give an idea of the -city and surrounding objects: - -“From the veranda or through the open door we can see the stream -gliding by in graceful silence, the native boats passing up and down; -the farther bank with its smiling groves and houses half hidden -between; farther out, on the plain, a widespreading forest of palm and -other trees, whose towering tops tell us the site and limits of Cheung -Mai surrounded by its high and massive wall of brick. Beyond and over -the top of this city arose that grand old mountain, Doi Su Tape, ever -beautiful, ever changing in its beauty. - -“Were I an expert at the pencil, I might send you some time a -landscape of river, plain and mountain superior to many that are -esteemed by the true artist as gems of the beautiful and picturesque. -It is our privilege to look upon this landscape of varied beauty every -day. For a week or more we were shut in, native style, at every point -of the compass by a luxuriant growth of tamarind, bamboo, and garden -shrubbery. It is thus that the native houses, which generally stand -back a distance from the river-pathway, are sometimes entirely -concealed by the dark-green foliage of the gardens. In front of our -premises a number of tamarind trees stand in all the carelessness of -the primeval forest. Some of them clutch the bank with their great -roots, a part of which have been washed bare by the stream when at its -height. Their widespread branches intercepted our view of the river -and mountain and kept out the cooling breeze. But the axe, by lopping -and pruning, soon gave scope to the eye and ingress to the healing -wind.” - -This principal mission-station is on the right bank of the river. On -the left bank, near the bridge, is Dr. Cheek’s compound, on the city -side――the gift of the chief of Cheung Mai to the missionary-physician, -who is consulted by the royal family in sickness. - -Through the gate that leads from the public road to Dr. Cheek’s -dispensary a steady stream of Laos men, women and children, rich and -poor, passes to and fro. “His name is a synonym,” says a traveler[3] -who recently visited Cheung Mai, “of all that is good and kind -throughout the district, he having relieved the sufferings and saved -the lives of hundreds of natives, and thereby earned their warm -gratitude. Adjoining his house he has erected a long bamboo shed, -subdivided into a number of small apartments, which serve as the wards -of a hospital. Here he has performed hundreds of operations with such -skill and such success that even the superstitious Laotians come from -long distances to be cured by him when suffering from painful diseases -or severe wounds. The chiefs and princes often send for him when their -reliance upon the superstitious rites of the native ‘faculty’ begins -to fail them, though, in such cases, his advice has often been only -asked when the patients have been _in extremis_. Two or three years -ago he saved the life of the chief’s wife when all the drugs and -incantations of several native medicos had been called into -requisition in vain. - -“Dr. Cheek has also established a boat-building yard, where he gives -employment to a large number of men, and where he has introduced -improved models of boats and better modes of construction. American -tools have been introduced, and are gradually superseding the -primitive adzes and saws of the natives.” - -The same traveler describes the palace of the chief of Cheung Mai as -“a mixture of Chinese and Laos architecture. Along the whole front -extended a long, open room, partially furnished with European -furniture, the only article of native workmanship a large gilt -state-chair or throne reserved for the use of the head-priest when he -came to visit the chief.” - -The palace itself and the court-life within are characterized by great -simplicity, the king, “an old man, tall of stature, but slightly -stooping beneath his load of sixty-four years,” usually spending much -of his time in mechanical work, of which he is fond, and the queen -sharing with him in the transaction of state business. The present -queen is a woman of remarkable intelligence, and exercises a -predominant influence in the government, “by virtue,” says a -missionary, “of her exceptional feminine tact.” - -Cheung Mai has a large market, which is very neat and orderly. It is -kept by women, who seat themselves on the ground, with vegetables, -fruits and confectionery deposited on plantain-leaves or in little -baskets made by themselves. While not trading they work on embroidery -used in ornamentation. Formerly, salt was the market currency, and so -seldom was money used that the owners of the articles often did not -know the value of them in money, but could readily tell if asked how -much salt they would take. The occasion of this was that all their -salt came from a great distance and was very precious in Cheung Mai. -Within a few years the Siamese government has sent small coin to take -the place of salt as a currency. The people were much confused for a -while by the change, and circulated them reluctantly. Some were even -imprisoned for persisting in taking salt to market to make their -purchases. - -The principal articles for sale are provisions, fruits, tobacco, -betel-nut, fish, mushrooms, wax, cotton, earthenware and flowers. The -pork-stalls are kept by men, and there are some Chinese sheds where -cotton goods, brass and wooden trays and Burmese lacquer-ware are -sold. There are a large number of temples in the city, among others -the new Wat Hluang, or royal temple, recently built on the site of a -very old one. - - -HOMES AND DAILY LIFE. - -There are no fine houses or palaces for the most part in Laos, princes -and peasants building on much the same general plan; the size and -quality of material and workmanship are the main difference. The -thatched roofs are cheap and easily replaced, and those of teak tiles, -though more durable, afford no better protection from sun and rain. -One-story high and raised on posts from six to eight feet above the -ground, a short flight of rude steps leads to the balcony which runs -around the dwelling. The flooring is usually of bamboo or teak, and on -one side of the veranda, protected by a covered shed, stand the large -water-jars, with a cocoanut dipper near. This entrance-platform is -generally ornamented by pots of orchids and other flowering plants. -Here in dirty weather, before entering the house, the polite guest -pauses to pour water over his feet. Here too the princes and other -inmates, too indolent to walk down to the river, are accustomed to -take a morning and evening bath by pouring water over themselves with -the dipper. - -Underneath the dwellings is a general receptacle for howdahs, -gardening utensils, etc., which at night is often used as a -cattle-shed. - -The furniture is very simple. Mats and cushions are piled in a corner -ready for use, the best cushions being three-sided with embroidered -ends. Home-made mattresses stuffed with cotton; mosquito curtains; -generally a native cradle swinging from the beam overhead; a few pots, -pans, baskets, cocoanut-shell dippers and spoons; a flat vessel or -saucer for the porkfat or oil which, with a bit of cotton wick, -furnishes the only artificial light,――would probably nearly exhaust -the list. At meal-times, about seven in the morning and toward sunset, -the family-circle gathers around a lacquer or brass tray on which are -placed small bowls of fish or pork, bamboo-shoots, vegetables and -curry, the steamed rice being served separately to each person in a -small basket. They sit upon the floor or mats; plates, forks and -knives are for the most part unknown. Among the very poor the -plantain-leaf takes even the place of bowls and saves all -dish-washing. - -Every house has its native loom, and the garments are for the most -part homespun. Cotton is very plentiful and cheap in Laos, and native -dyes are used. The women, rich and poor alike, spend much time in -making garments for the priests. Some of the well-to-do and the slaves -of the nobility are skilled in embroidery. The native silk fabrics are -also woven on the loom, cocoons of the wild silkworm being collected. -The favorite colors are dark-blue, orange, maroon and a reddish-brown. -Princesses use this silk interwoven with gold thread. - -Each district seems to have its own local headcovering, the most -common being a large flat of palm-leaves sewn together. A straight, -scant, horizontally-striped petticoat in blue and yellow, with a -body-scarf or shawl worn in various ways, or a tight-fitting jacket, -constitutes the not ungraceful costume of a Laos woman; her hair, -being drawn back, is fastened in a neat knot by a gold pin and is -almost invariably ornamented with flowers. - -The body of the men of Western Laos is usually covered with -tattoo-marks of different animals and emblematic monsters. These -figures are usually first sketched by the professional tattooer from -the waist to the knees――monkeys, bats, rats, birds and so-forth; then -the skin is punctured with a sharp-pointed steel instrument, and an -indelible black pigment is well rubbed in. The dress of the ordinary -man consists of little more than the waist-cloth, but the young -noblemen are adopting the Siamese court-costume. Formerly, all went -bare-footed, but buffalo-hide sandals are now much used. Both men and -women are passionately fond of flowers. The ear-lobes are bored when -very young and stretched with pieces of wood, ivory and metal, and the -men almost invariably carry a flower in this hole; cigars and other -articles are fastened behind the ear. Large ears are regarded with -favor as a sign of longevity. - - -LAOS WORKMANSHIP. - -Scattered over Laos-land are brick-fields and pottery-works, where the -native earthenware, water-jars and other household utensils are made. -The earthenware oven used by the Laos is in the shape of a boot, the -opening at the top holding the pot, while the upper part of the shoe -is cut away for the grate. Wood is burned within. These ovens are very -cheap, but break easily. - -Wood-carving is also much practiced in Laos, and much technical -artistic skill is displayed in the carved scroll-work for doors, posts -and household utensils. - -The valuable native varnish called _rack_ is resin collected from the -trunk of a special tree in Laos. This black lacquer is a monopoly and -little exported, being used in preparing the temples and idols for -their covering of paint and gold-leaf. It dries slowly in spite of the -hot climate, but gives in the end a perfectly smooth, hard surface -unaffected by dampness. The manufacture of lacquer-ware is carried on -in all parts of the country. First-class workers are found in almost -every hamlet. The foundation is made of woven bamboo strips coated -thickly with _rack_. This is polished with the common Laos substitute -for sand-paper――rice-husks and water. Then a pattern is drawn with a -style and the article finished with coats of red and brown paint. Many -household utensils are lacquer-ware, and some of the designs are -really well executed. The price varies with the quality of the -workmanship. - -The Laos are also skilled in the manufacture of silver-ware. Each -village has usually one or more native artists engaged in executing -orders for the princes and wealthy classes. The _modus operandi_ is -primitive, and the work lacks finish, but the general effect is bold -and pleasing. A thin plate of the right shape is filled with a -composition of wax and resin. The patterns are from memory, usually a -medley of mythical birds and beasts, and the design is hammered out -with a style and sort of blunt chisel, the plastic filling yielding -readily to each blow; the figures and scroll-work stand out in high -relief. The value of articles is determined by the weight, with fifty -per cent. added for labor. - - -OCCUPATIONS. - -Life in Laos is exceedingly monotonous. The women do much of the hard -work in the field as well as in the household. During the dry, cool -season, from November to May, even the trees and grass seem dried up -and lifeless, only the orchids showing any signs of vitality. Heavy -thunder- and hail-storms in May often herald the opening of the rainy -season. Then all nature takes a fresh start: the rice is planted; new -leaves shoot out; the heat becomes intense; vegetation is almost -spontaneous. After planting, only a very little labor is needed to -secure a good harvest in a favorable season. Both buffaloes and oxen -are used for ploughing, and are guided by reins attached to the noses -of the animals. Elephants abound, and are also employed as beasts of -burden, especially in the wood-yards. Carts are few, and the rude -native ones sometimes used to transport rice are drawn by men. The -paddy-granaries are simple, huge barrel-shaped bamboo baskets, -plastered to keep out mice and insects. - -There are few amusements. Men, women and children are adepts in -fishing, and thus provide food for the household. The chase is sport -little indulged in by the lower classes, with the exception of -professional tiger-hunters. Two or three times a year grand -hunting-expeditions are organized by the principal chiefs and cause -much excitement. - -The habits of social and domestic life among the Laos present some -striking contrasts to those of most heathen nations. Women are kindly -treated, and even honored by special favor and consideration in cases -of litigation with men. The baby-daughter is cared for as tenderly as -the little son, and child-marriage is unknown, while old age is -respected and watched over. Marriage is not as much a matter of trade -as it usually is among heathen people, and divorce is less common and -more governed by just and humane laws. Their treatment of the sick is -absurd in the extreme, so far as true care and healing are concerned -(as will appear in the chapter on that subject), but their intention -seems to be to do for their suffering ones all that their limited -knowledge and superstitious beliefs allow. - - -TRAVELING. - -The great need of Laos is a better outlet for trade. At present these -little kingdoms are practically shut in from the outside nations. -There are parts of this country which can only be reached by -elephant-traveling, so dense are the jungles and so difficult the -passage. Missionaries laboring here are more isolated from the rest of -the world than at most stations, as will appear from the following -statements: There is no established line of boats going and coming, as -upon our own waters, but all transporting is done by private -individuals, and is only an occasional or incidental occurrence. For -this reason our inland missionaries have to wait sometimes from three -to five months before receiving any mail-matter from Bangkok, and in -one instance Cheung Mai had no mail for eight months. At Rahang -gentlemen may leave the river and complete the journey to Cheung Mai -by elephant, but ladies could not endure the ride, it is such a very -tiresome mode of travel. The elephant is a faithful and indispensable -servant in that land of mountains. All overland transportation -throughout Laos is carried on by means of elephants and oxen. Large -droves of oxen are frequently seen traveling single file behind a -leader decked with a mask fancifully made out of shells covering his -whole face, while from between his horns a large peacock tail rises -and sweeps gracefully, though comically, over his back. Each ox is -laden with an immense pair of baskets thrown over saddle-bag fashion, -and in these are placed the articles for transportation. Sometimes -every ox is covered nearly all over with strings of little bells, -which add some life to the scene. The peddlers from the north do a -large trade with Siam and Laos, and the Shan caravans are almost -entirely composed of these oxen, which give warning of their approach -by a musical sound of tinkling bells echoing through the forest glades -and from the steep mountainsides. The object of the mask upon the -leader is to protect the caravan from the assaults of evil spirits. -The Yunnan caravans are composed of small ponies and mules. To prevent -delay from grazing along the road, a ratan muzzle is provided. -Elephants also are decorated with bells to give notice of their -approach to caravans coming from an opposite direction. As they tramp -steadily along they regale themselves with the tender shoots of -overhanging trees. When crossing a stream they generally take a -trunkful of water whether thirsty or not. - -Official passports are curious documents, consisting of long narrow -strips of palm-leaf coiled into a ring, and at each end is an embossed -stamp. This stamp determines the real weight of the document, and is -the first point examined before reading the order. These leaves are -almost imperishable, being tough and entirely unaffected by water, and -for such a purpose are superior to paper. When the writing grows -indistinct it is easily made legible by wetting the finger and rubbing -it over the leaf, thus cleansing the smooth surface and filling the -scratches with a thin film of dirt. Such a passport frequently -includes an order to inferior officials to furnish the traveler with -the necessary elephants for his journey. Throughout Laos written -official documents are almost invariably thus scratched with a style -on a strip of palm-leaf. - -The enormous number of wild elephants in the forests and domesticated -elephants in the towns strikes one with amazement. Tigers, deer, wild -hogs, pea-fowls and jungle-chickens also abound in the forests; while -dogs, cats, crows and lizards are among the domesticated pets. The -country is rich, not only in valuable timber, but in minerals. The -opening up of the market by railroad would result in immediate profit, -bringing down the Laos products and taking back in exchange English -and American manufactures, for which a large and increasing demand -would be readily created. - - -LAOS OIL AND WINE. - -Cocoa and betel-nut trees abound in Cheung Mai. Oil is made from the -former, and the latter produces an article of commerce. - -Laotians have their wine as well as more civilized nations, but they -get it from a tree instead of a vine. A party of friends who were -traveling near Lakon in returning from a walk in the environs -encountered some Laotians carrying vessels of bamboo filled with a -liquid which at first they supposed to be water. On tasting it, -however, they discovered that it was the wine of the country, -sweet-flavored and by no means disagreeable to the palate――not unlike, -indeed, the product of some of the Rhenish vineyards. It was palm -wine, freshly made. It will not keep more than four-and-twenty hours -without fermentation. The Laotians offered to conduct the strangers to -a neighboring plantation, where they might observe the different -processes of its manufacture. The offer was accepted, and the party -soon arrived at a clearing which was thickly planted with great -borassus palms. To collect the wine――which is, in fact, the sap of the -tree――nothing more is necessary than to make an incision in the middle -of the head of the tree at the point where the leaves branch off, and -suspend beneath a bamboo, into which the sap falls drop by drop. In -order to reach the summit of these huge palms, which are straight and -smooth as the mainmast of a ship, the Laotians have invented a simple -and ingenious process. They transform the palm into a veritable ladder -by attaching to the trunk, with small strips of flexible ratan, -projecting laths of bamboo, which, jutting out to right and left at -intervals of twelve to fourteen inches, form so many “rungs” and -enable the ascent of the tree to be rapidly and easily accomplished. - -[Illustration: TAPPING THE BORASSUS PALM.] - - -INCIDENTS OF MISSION-LIFE. - -There are bright gleams ever and anon revealing themselves in the -pictures given us of the life of our missionaries in this lonely -corner of the world, showing that God does not leave his servants here -to sadness and discouragement. A young missionary thus describes a -visit to the wife of the king of the province, by courtesy called a -queen: - -“I want to tell you of a novel entertainment Mrs. Cheek and myself -enjoyed last week. The queen has long been wishing for a dress made -like ours, and at last she prevailed on Mrs. Cheek to make it. The -material was black summer silk, and Mrs. Cheek made a pretty, short -_princesse_, white lace at neck and sleeves and lavender bows――very -pretty indeed. While it was being made we laughed over visions of bare -feet beneath a black silk awkwardly adjusted and a yellow cotton -scarf. When the dress was finished Mrs. Cheek invited me to go with -her to the queen’s and try to persuade her to let us show her how to -wear it. I was only too willing. The queen received us very kindly, -and was delighted with the dress. Mrs. Cheek suggested that she put it -on while we were there, and she laughed and said she was ashamed, but -soon invited us into her bedroom to help her dress. Mrs. Cheek had -provided the necessary underclothes, and after much instruction they -were properly adjusted. How we were to get the dress over her sacred -head was a question, but she answered it by putting it on herself. I -buttoned it, pinned the neck, and put on her diamond pin and necklace, -and then we stood off to get the effect. The transformation was as -pleasing as it had been sudden, and we were delighted. The queen -seemed to know that the dress was suitable, and instead of being -awkward she was at perfect ease. Our fears were not at all realized; -even the bare feet seemed dignified. The queen in the native costume -looks tall and spare, but this costume rounded her form out and made -her look quite queenly. When the king came in to see her he was very -much pleased, and told her she must have another dress just like it. -We had a very pleasant visit, and returned home well pleased. Mrs. -Cheek is now suffering for her generosity, for Chow O’Boon has sent -cloth to have dresses made for herself and daughter, and other -princesses are wishing to have the whole costume.” - -Another enlivening incident is told in these words: - -“I must tell you of the latest great excitement we have created. Many -years ago our mission-compound was a temple-ground, but the temple was -all in ruins when the mission took this land, and the débris was used -for leveling the ground, and in this débris an old idol was buried. -This has always been considered a very sacred spot, and many people -have brought offerings of fruit and flowers to be placed near the spot -where the idol was supposed to be. We have always refused them -admission to our grounds, but they often come at night unknown to us -and bring their offerings. Last week we were having our bank of the -river diked, and the workmen found the idol. Mr. Wilson had them -disinter it. As soon as the people heard what was done they came in -great numbers to see the god they had been so long worshiping――an -image of Buddha, of sandstone, about five feet high, sitting in -Oriental fashion on a large stone pillar. It had doubtless once been -gilded, but not a ray of glory remained, and it was both headless and -crippled in one arm. The next day Mr. Wilson took an axe and -demolished the god. Then you should have seen the people, and -especially the children, come and peep through the fence, and, half -frightened at the sacrilegious deed that was being done, hurry away -again. We intend to utilize this old relic by making a garden-seat of -the pedestal and a mound for ferns of the broken pieces.” - -Another lady describes a picnic given to some newly-arrived -missionaries by a Cheung Mai princess: - -“At four A. M. my clock struck the alarm, and we opened our eyes to -find it still dark. It did not take us long to dress. Lighting the -oil-stove, we soon had boiling water, and coffee, which, with mango -sauce and bread and butter, gave us a light breakfast before the long -trip began. Just before six I ran down to the gate and saw the four -elephants crossing the river; to my astonishment, the young prince, -Chow Kope, was driving one of them. Like most boys, he thought it -would be fun to throw aside the dignity of the princeship for a while. -He is a bright, intelligent and winning boy. He drove his elephant up -to the front veranda, raised the floor of the howdah (a little house -placed on the back of the elephant, and in which we ride), stored our -baskets, shawls, etc. in a sort of catch-all, and then, putting down -the floor, spread my boat-mattress over it, and placed the pillows at -one end that I might lie down if I wished to. Our drivers sit upon the -heads of the elephants, climbing up by means of the chain which holds -the howdah on, and using the knee of the fore leg of the elephant for -a stirrup, or rather a step-up. The elephant, when punched on the -knee, holds up his foot; the driver places _his_ foot on the broad -step made by the elephant’s knee, and, catching hold of the chain, -swings himself up to the monster’s head, where he sits――monarch of all -he surveys. Taking Chow’s hand, I reached the elephant’s head, and -then perched myself, as comfortably as you can imagine, in my little -house. Others of the party mounted elephants, and some rode on -horseback. - -“We started off, moving slowly but surely. Crossing at the elephant -ford, we soon reached the road at the east gate of the city-wall; -following the road till we reached the north-west gate, we struck out -across the rice-fields――great plains, with only now and then a little -cluster of trees. We could command a fine view of the plains, and the -atmosphere was so clear that, for the first time, I saw the belt of -mountains which encircles the valley wherein Cheung Mai is nestled. -The mountain to which we were going seemed to be only about two miles -away, but was in reality four miles. The rice-field road took us -across some little brooks, which the elephants must have enjoyed, for -they filled their trunks with water, and every few minutes amused us -by throwing it over themselves, till one would almost have supposed -that that long proboscis was an unfathomable reservoir. Before -reaching the mountain proper we came into the woods, composed of -bamboo and a multitude of other trees and shrubs of which I did not -know the names, and a dense undergrowth. The path from this place up -the mountain was narrow, rough and steep, but not once did the -clumsy-looking creatures stumble. They frequently came to places so -steep that it seemed as though it were folly to attempt to climb up, -but up they went, carefully, slowly, placing the knees of their fore -legs on the high step, then drawing up the other feet, never missing -their footing. At the foot of the mountain we saw the stream Hoa Kao, -which we followed in the already beaten pathway. Up, up we went, over -rocks and shrubs, and so close to the edge of precipices from one -hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high that it seemed as if we -must fall over. Oh, it was grand! At one place on the mountain-side we -had a very fine view of the country for miles. - -“You may wonder how the drivers guide the elephants. A knock on the -right side of the head means turn to the left, a knock on the left -means go to the right, one on the forehead means go slowly. They use, -in thus guiding these beasts, a bamboo stick two feet long with a -prong on the end of it. It did seem wonderful that they were so easily -managed. When we came to a steep place Chow would say ‘_Coy_’ -(carefully). - -“At last, after a two hours’ ride, we saw the princess Chow O’Boon, -with her train of servants, waiting for us on a large flat rock by the -stream. With their many-colored skirts and scarfs, dark skins, black -hair and shining eyes they looked like a band of gypsies. Here my -elephant carefully knelt down, and, stepping on to its head, a man -helped me, and once more I was on _terra firma_. This spot was as far -as the elephants could go, but Chow’s slaves picked up our luggage, -and we walked to where the stream was quite narrow. By its banks were -great flat rocks, and projecting over these and at a height of thirty -feet was a very large umbrella-like rock. It must have projected -twenty-five feet, and was about seventy feet long. Under its shelter -we had our dinner, and after this a nice resting-time. Having brought -our bathing-suits, we went up the stream later in the day and had a -delightful bath. At four o’clock we started for home. The ride back -was delightful, though it was quite exciting coming down the mountain. -The sky was beautiful: low in the horizon were dark clouds threatening -rain; above them the lighter clouds changed from golden to scarlet, -then gradually back to golden. A pleasant breeze was blowing, and had -not the fact that I was riding an elephant kept me awake I should have -gone to sleep. We reached home about seven o’clock, and all pronounced -Hoa Kao a beautiful stream. We felt very grateful to Chow O’Boon for -giving us the use of her elephants and thus affording us so much -pleasure.” - - * * * * * - -But better perhaps than all else of reward or comfort in a -missionary’s experience are the consistent life and triumphant death -of one rescued from the darkness and superstition of his people and -brought into the kingdom of God. The man mentioned in the following -account, the first Laos convert, had for a number of years been -walking with God in humble faith: - -“Dear old Nan Intah is at rest――gone to be with Jesus whom he loved. I -wish that many of those who talk so much about the failure of -mission-work could have been at his bedside and seen his resigned and -peaceful death. - -“When told that he could not live through the day, he turned to his -eldest child and committed the mother to his care. He gave his hand to -each of us first, then to his dear faithful wife and children and -grandchildren, and last to the church-members, saying to them, ‘Be -patient! be patient! trust in Jesus, all of you.’ To his youngest son -he said, ‘I am walking on the way you all must go; only be ready for -our Lord. Oh, my son, do not fall from the right path. Trust in the -Lord now, and do his work, as I have tried to do. You will suffer many -trials, but they will be forgotten when the day of reward comes. You -plant the rice-fields in the water and in the rain, but three months -from now you will gather the harvest. Learn from your yearly work the -lesson of life, and strengthen yourself in Jesus.’ He suffered -greatly, but toward the last he lay quietly as if sleeping, then -suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me as if he would speak, but he -was not looking at me, for his eyes were full of light and joy. A -smile passed over his face, and at the same instant he breathed his -last. - -“The children were violent in their grief, but the dear old wife and -mother would say, ‘Let us rejoice rather that father is now free from -suffering. Jesus saved him from sin, and now has only taken him to -himself. God has called him home before us, but we may follow and be -with him. Be patient and trust, as your father said.’ She was -heartbroken herself, and nearly exhausted with the long, patient -nursing, and yet she would only say, ‘Loong Nan never complained in -all his two years’ sickness. Let us not complain of what the Lord has -done.’ - -“The men made a teak-wood coffin and Mr. Wilson lined it with fresh -white muslin; then the body of our beloved old elder, the first Laos -convert, was put in it and carried to the worship-room, where his -voice had often been heard in prayer. The whole land was so flooded -that it was impossible to dig a grave, so the coffin was placed on the -surface of the ground and a brick wall built around it. This could not -be done in the public burying-ground, and we laid our dear old Loong -Nan in our own garden under the mango trees. Every one said, ‘How -different from a heathen burial!’ - -“Do I believe that Jesus is? Yes, as I believe that I live now. Nan -Intah, a poor ignorant Laos, in this remotest corner of the globe, -believed the precious story of our Lord and received the promise, ‘I -will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ ‘I have called thee by thy name; -thou art mine.’ That bright look of surprised joy,――I thank our Lord -for permitting me to see it, and it has strengthened my faith in him.” - -With this story of the peaceful death and Christian burial of a man -but a little time ago a believer in witchcraft, a worshiper of spirits -and of Buddha, knowing nothing of God or Christ or his own soul, we -leave the general subject to look more particularly at the Laos -country and people. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -_FROM BANGKOK TO CHEUNG MAI._ - - -As the newly-arrived missionary for Laos stands in Bangkok and looks -“up the river,” the five hundred miles that lie between him and Cheung -Mai mean more to him perhaps than any of the same number he has -traversed since leaving his native land. It means from sixty to ninety -days’ travel in a rocking boat, and when accomplished puts him in one -of the most isolated outposts of the Church. - -The boats for the journey, with a Laos crew are sent down from Cheung -Mai, as they are constructed to meet the peculiarities of the upper -Menam, its changing channels, its shallows and its rapids. The hull is -of light draught, and in the larger boats is about thirty feet long -and widens to the breadth of six or seven feet across the deck. At -either end it rises from the water in a sharp, narrow curve, that of -the stern being broadened and finished with an ornamentation which -resembles a fish’s tail. This is the design, and poetical it may be, -but in appearance it is clumsy and unsymmetrical in the general -contour of the boat. The cabin at the stern, in dimensions about five -by seven feet, is used as a sitting- and sleeping-room. The middle -deck is appropriated to the storing away of goods, boxes, trunks, -etc., and the bow is occupied by the boatmen, where they sit when -rowing or walk when poling, and where they eat and sleep. The middle -deck is covered over with bamboo wickerwork. It forms an arch, and is -so low that one cannot stand up in it. The roof of the cabin is of the -same material, but of finer braid, is separate from that of the middle -deck, and about two feet higher, so that one can stand comfortably in -the centre of it. The bow has an adjustable cover, which the boatmen -slide on to the cover of the middle deck during the day and replace -over the bow at night. The three sides of the cabin toward the river -have the upper parts entirely open. Screens of bamboo matwork are -fastened on the outside by strings of ratan, which answer the purpose -of hinges. These “shutters” can be raised to any angle, and are -propped outward by slender bamboo sticks. Being tied to the screen, -they are always at hand. - -The crew consists of a captain and from six to eight boatmen. It is -quite an imposing sight when the Laos king starts out with a fleet of -forty or fifty of these boats, each taking place in line according to -the rank of the passengers, the king’s boat at the head with the -Siamese flag aloft, and gongs sounding the departure. - -Our missionary fleet seldom exceeds three boats, and is minus the -flags and gongs, but instead has the waving of hats and handkerchiefs -by the outward bound, which is answered by the watchers on the banks. -“Bon voyage!” and “God speed you!” mingle with the farewells of the -company on the receding boats until each is lost to the other’s sight. - -Let us suppose that you and I are of a company awaiting in Bangkok the -coming of the Laos boats. For many days we have been making provision -for our journey as well as enjoying the society of dear friends, when -at last one evening the announcement is made, “The boats are here!” -With one accord we rush to the river-bank in time to see them filing -into place for mooring in front of the missionary compound. How -topheavy they look, reminding us of old-fashioned stage-coaches! The -dusky boatmen look at us with smiling faces as we greet them with -“_Subirú?_” (“Are you well?”), and respond with a hearty “_Subi? -subi?_” (“Well? well?”), returning the question to us. We next ask, -“How many days since you left Cheung Mai?” Ten days, or fifteen, or -twenty may be the reply, for you must understand it is easier to get -from Cheung Mai to Bangkok than from here to Cheung Mai. How is that? -Well, their quick trip indicates a good stage of water, and they have -been able to shoot the rapids and to row most of the way in the -smoother waters. In going up the poling in the upper river is slow -work, and the boats have to be dragged by ropes over the rapids, which -consumes both time and strength, for the boatmen have to rest after -passing the most difficult (_i. e._ high and swift). We must also take -into consideration the difference of going with the current and -against it. - -By the time we have finished this little talk the boats have been tied -to their moorings and the boatmen are sitting in squat-fashion on the -decks, resting before their preparations for supper and for the night. -As we bid them “Good-evening” our thoughts are busy with the morrow, -when we shall begin to arrange our boats for the trip northward. At -dawn we are awake, and find the atmosphere cool even to chilliness, as -it always is in the winter months. The thermometer, we find, stands at -60° (at Cheung Mai at this season it is often as low as 54°). The cool -season is best suited to traveling in boats, and it is important that -we get off at its beginning. In the hot season, March and April, the -journey will be intolerable, and the river being then very low, it -would be impossible to get the larger boats through the shallow water. -In the rainy season, from May till October, you can imagine what it -would be to live in a close boat with a daily visitation of rain, -besides the risk to health from constant dampness and exposure to -malaria, which is rifest at that season. The best time for the journey -is the cool season, when the skies are without a cloud――from the -middle of November till February――and the air is cool and pure. The -weather then is like October in our Middle States, warm throughout the -day with cool nights and mornings. You will then need the blankets and -quilts provided by the dear home friends, and your warm wraps and -shawls will be in use most of the way. - -As our goods and provisions are transferred to the boats, we proceed -to their arrangement in the narrow spaces allotted. You will not think -our appointments very luxurious, yet we can make our cabin neat and -home-like by hanging curtains at the windows, and our mattresses, -which are laid in a corner on the floor, we can fold together and -cover with a chintz spread, thus economizing space and improvising a -sofa. On the shelf above we shall place a few books, toilet articles -and flowers and ferns as we can get them. A grass mat upon the floor -and two or three camp-chairs, and the arrangements are complete, the -goods in mid-deck being tidily and compactly settled, with trunks and -boxes left accessible and all the articles for “below decks” being -nicely stored. - -The cheery “All ready!” is given, and we launch out into the river. -The exit is very quiet. As our crafts are pulled out to mid-stream the -splash of the long oars as they fall and rise is the only signal of -our outgoing. We select the time of departure at “flood-tide,” when -the waters from the Gulf of Siam come up to start us on our way. But -in a few hours we are beyond this tidal wave――yes, and far beyond the -dear friends we left standing on the bank of the river. Bangkok is -left in the distance, with its missionary homes and chapels, its -palaces, huts and great temples, its shipping, steamers and -market-boats, its bazaars and merchant-houses and its thronging, -restless population. - -The river at this stage of our journey is wide and even with its -banks, while the heavy volume of water is rippling and turbid. As we -pass the suburbs and get farther into the country the signs of human -life begin to disappear. Mile after mile we pass between the low green -banks in uninhabited seclusion and surrounded on all sides by -luxuriant and gorgeous vegetation――forest trees and bushes of -undergrowth in countless varieties, and conspicuous among them the -bamboo, cocoanut and palm. Every bend brings a repetition of the same -scene, without the sight of a house or road or farm, until we reach -one of the many villages that are scattered at distances all the way -to Rahang, our halfway station. - -And now what of boat-life and our Laos crew? The captain, with the -rudder-handle and his stool, occupies one entire side of our cabin. -The tiller, entering aft of the cabin between the floor and wall, -passes over its whole length to the fore side, where it reaches the -hand of the pilot as he sits on a high stool. This arrangement -trammels our movements on that side, as of necessity we must keep out -of the way. The man himself, with the characteristics of his race, is -polite, simple-hearted and unobtrusive. The men at the bow who, with -strong arms are propelling the boat, soon win our esteem by their -patient faithfulness. The happier it will be, however, if some of our -native Christians are of the company. Yet even the untaught Laos have -a kindness of nature and a desire to please and oblige which, with -their quiet, gentle ways, gain our interest and respect. To find the -noble qualities of friendliness, kindness and gratitude amongst a -people so morally degraded may seem contradictory, but it remains a -fact. - -The leisure hours in the boat we occupy in the study of the language, -Bible-reading, etc. As meal-time approaches we are on the lookout for -a pleasant, shady stopping-place, and as soon as the boat reaches -shore we are out, and at once begin culinary operations. The boatmen -gather driftwood, which is abundant along the banks, and soon have two -fires lighted. We detail one or two men to assist us, while the others -prepare their own food, which has been selected and laid away, as ours -has been, in Bangkok before starting. The Laos men are more or less -accustomed to assist in cooking when at home, and this training is a -great convenience to themselves and to us in this long river-journey. - -If our methods of preparing a meal are different, a much sharper -contrast is drawn as we sit down in two companies on the river-shore -to eat our food. The Laos squat around their baskets of boiled or -steamed rice and bowls of peppery curry made of chicken or fish. This, -with bowls of vegetables and fruit lying around loose, is laid on the -bare sand or deck as the case may be. No knives or forks are used, but -we may see wooden spoons, with which they dip up the savory vegetable -curry from the general dish, throwing back their heads as they put it -into their mouths. In fact, they eat most of their food in this -manner. - -Supper is the only meal we can take leisurely, as we do not prepare it -till landed for the night. At breakfast and dinner we consume but -little over an hour in preparing and eating. By management we can have -breakfast and dinner under preparation when the boat stops, so as to -make as little delay as possible. All having eaten and the dishes -being washed and laid away, we resume our course. - -As we pass the different towns and villages we stop as necessity -requires to replenish our larder in the line of rice, vegetables, -fruit, fish or chickens. Flour, coffee, tea, sugar, etc. we provided -in Bangkok for the whole trip. The flour comes from America. When we -bake bread it is always in the evening. We got leaven from the friends -in Bangkok, and hold it in safe-keeping, lest we run short midway in -our journey. When the boat stops for the night we have our loaves -already risen in the pans, and our first care is a fire for its -immediate baking. - -The houses in these towns are scattered without regularity of streets -or squares. Slight bamboo fences mark the boundaries of each house and -garden. The enclosed space may be large, as in case of a nobleman’s -residence, or very small or maybe none at all in that of a poor -peasant. The houses are built of bamboo, and are raised on posts. The -roofs are covered with attap (a broad-leaved grass resembling blades -of corn). Costlier and larger houses are made of teak-wood, raised -also on posts and the roofs covered with tiles. Not a brick house or a -chimney is to be seen anywhere. At a distance the appearance of a town -is strongly suggestive of barns and haystacks. - -In contrast with these rude domiciles we find in the vicinity of every -town large and elaborately finished temples. Upon them the wealth and -taste of the community are concentrated. They are built of brick and -plastered with white cement, which gleams like marble through the -heavy, dark foliage of the trees in the temple-grounds. Wood-carvings -and gold-leaf and mosaics of colored glasses or isinglass wrought into -many devices decorate the front entrance and doorway. Standing apart, -they have a domain of their own. Their broad grounds are enclosed by a -brick fence covered with white cement. In proximity to the temple are -the numerous little houses of the priests, whom we can see, at all -hours and in all places, marching about in dress of bright yellow and -with bald, shaven heads. - -The shady seclusion of these grounds, with the images of Buddha -sitting in darkness within the temple, and it being also the abode of -the priesthood, make it a place of great sanctity and veneration to -these superstitious people. - -The same uniformity presents itself in every hamlet and town in our -route. Between these places miles and miles of solitary silence -stretch away, until we could readily imagine that all of human kind -had forsaken the earth, and that we, by some strange destiny, were -left in this big “basket of bulrushes” to go on and on interminably. -What wonder, then, that the sight of a town or a passing boat are -pleasant interruptions on this monotonous highway? - -Reaching Nakawn Soowun (_i. e._ “City of Heaven”), a provincial -capital ten days’ journey below Rahang, we find it situated at the -junction of two branches of the river. Our route leads us into the -left or north-west branch. Here the current is so swift that it -becomes necessary to abandon the oars and resort to the long poles -(iron-pronged at the end) to push the boat through the seething -waters. All the dexterity and acuteness of the polesmen and pilot are -put to the test now in keeping within the channel and to prevent our -being cast upon a sandbar. The bed of the river is filled with masses -of sand, which are in a state of perpetual change. Whirling and -careering and finding no permanent lodgment, it is constantly -displacing the channel, while we in our pursuit of it often miss it by -a half space of the boat, one side of which is lying on a sand-drift, -and at the other there may be the depth of twelve or fourteen feet of -water. In pushing off, the current carries us down stream, and as we -recover our distance again we think of the problem of the frog in the -well, and _our_ question is: If in one hour we gain _three_ miles and -lose _one_, _when_ shall we reach Rahang? - -However, as “perseverance conquers all things,” we make our way -through this war of waters (passing several towns on our way) more or -less difficult of navigation, until we reach Rahang, where we find the -river divided into several channels by little islands. The banks are -high and the situation is beautiful for a city, with its -mountain-range and its two sentinel mountains, one east, the other -west, of the town. - -Rahang marks the terminus of one-half our journey, and is the most -northern of Siamese towns. By some it is reckoned as the most southern -Laos town. - -Its officials are in general Siamese, although its population is mixed -and is estimated at fifteen thousand. Here we see Laos, Siamese, -Chinese, Burmese, Peguans, Karens, etc. At a glance you will see the -importance of its occupation as a missionary centre. About two years -ago Dr. McGilvary labored alone here for many months. He was kindly -received and much encouraged in his work. As its fruit some were led -to the Saviour, and a permanent mission-station is to be established -here during the coming year. - -After two or three days’ sojourn, spent in making preparation for the -last part of our journey, we set forth again, and now to enter the -border of Laos. - -A few miles north of Rahang the river branches once more. We follow -the north-west fork, called the Maping. The other branch (Mawang) -leads to the province of Lakawn, where is one of our Laos churches. -Although the country in this vicinity is comparatively level, yet the -high banks and the views of distant mountain-ranges or hills diversify -the scenery, which has not the dull monotony of the lower Menam――a -pleasing change, and one that beguiles our time and attention as the -boats are slowly making their way toward the rapids; and seven or -eight days’ “poling” bring us to the entrance of the ravine at their -foot. - -After weeks of voyaging on a broad river and through a flat country, -with a wide horizon always encircling us, how anomalous to be -confronted by this rocky pass, through which we must thread our way up -forty rapids to the equally level territory of Laos beyond it! As we -enter the gorge from the bright sunlight a sombre shade closes over -us, even “the shadow of a great rock in a _weary land_.” Wild and -grand beyond description are these cañons and falls of the Maping -River, and far exceeding any portrayal are the lofty, majestic -mountains through which the river cuts its way. - -No scientific survey has ever been made of the incline of the river, -neither accurate measurement of the height of its mountains. -Missionaries have approximated the altitude of some of the cliffs that -border the river at from eight hundred to fifteen hundred feet. The -geology and flora of this region remain unclassified. In silent beauty -they await the coming of one who may some day unlock their secrets. - -It occupies from one to two weeks in getting through the rapids. Some -are so difficult of ascent as to require many hours for its -accomplishment, while others can be gotten over in less than half an -hour. By means of ropes and pulleys the men, with the “Heave-O” cry -that is heard the world over, pull and push the boat upward through -the gushing waters to the top of the fall, where we glide on in -smoother ease――several miles, it may be――until a warning roar in the -distance announces the approach to another rapid. - -The river is very winding in its course and variable in breadth――narrow -here, where perpendicular walls of granite rise sheer out of the water -to prodigious heights, shutting us in with heavy shadows and deep -solitude; wider there, where the rocks recede and stand apart, leaving -valleys between, where many a boulder, large and small, in “rank -confusion” lies, and where at the river’s edge are spaces of white -sandy beach. Here, where we halt for the night, a spacious ampitheatre -encloses us apart from all of earth. Encompassed by the “everlasting -hills” and under the silent stars, we sing our evening song of praise -and worship “Him who is from everlasting to everlasting.” - -When the morning sunlight sends us on our way again, fresh revelations -of beauty meet our wondering eyes――cliffs whose precipitous sides have -been under the frescoing pencil of the sun and rain for a thousand -years; castellated rocks with great columns of stalactites pendent on -the gray walls; caves, crags and ravines with crystal cascades singing -their solemn tune in lonely places. Nor is there destitution of -vegetable life. In beautiful relief we find the rich green so peculiar -to the tropics spread everywhere amongst this rugged scenery――trees, -bushes, flowers, vines, ferns and mosses. - -At the head of the rapids, and soon after passing out of the -mountains, we get our first sight of a Laos village; and cheerful it -is to come again amongst the habitations of men. During our two weeks’ -transit from this point to Cheung Mai we find a country having the -same general features as that below the falls, with the exception of -higher banks along the river; but here we have another type of people, -entirely different in dress and _address_ from those of the lower -Menam. In common with the Siamese, they adhere to the Buddhist faith, -adding also spirit-worship. They have the same habit of betel-chewing -and the same forms of superstition, yet are a distinct race in customs -and modes peculiar to themselves. - -Many sights of exclusively new character are continuously meeting us -too. The first that strikes the attention is the Laos system of -waterwheels, used for the irrigation of rice-fields and gardens. They -are made of bamboo, and are about twenty feet in diameter, and so -adjusted as to be turned by the current of the river, their rims being -furnished with small bamboo troughs which dip up the water as the -wheel turns down, and is emptied as the wheel turns up into a large -trough on the bank, and thence conveyed away by bamboo gutters. We see -these wheels at every turn (right and left side) of the river, yet -never lose interest in the rude machinery nor in the constant dipping -and emptying process. - -Still proceeding northward, we come amongst the cucumber-gardens which -are planted on the broad sandbars. The Laos women, taking advantage of -the low water at this season, occupy in free possession every -available spot. The morning and evening they give to the cultivation -of these sandy gardens, in which they raise cucumbers, beans and sweet -potatoes. A fascinating sight it is to see these islands of “living -green” scattered up and down the bed of the river. - -But what a spectacle we have in the long lines of little cows and -oxen, each laden with baskets of rice which they are carrying from the -harvest-fields! Two long baskets, holding perhaps a bushel, are joined -by a yoke which rests on the animal’s back, while the baskets hang at -its sides in the fashion of saddle-bags. In one train we may see -twenty, forty or one hundred, and they walk single file. The leader -has great preeminence in having its face masked with an embroidery of -shellwork, while over its head stream the gay feathers of the peacock, -and a string of bells (resembling sleigh-bells) is hung around its -neck. Many of the others also have bells, and what a merry sound they -make as they pass along on the banks above us! This is the only way -the Laos utilize the cow, for they abhor milk and butter. - -At Rahang we saw elephants in limited numbers, but here we see them in -scores. This is literally true in the case of a prince’s retinue, when -we see from forty to sixty or more in one procession. They are in -universal use as beasts of burden. - -See those large buffaloes that stand at the edge of the water! They -have short and thin hair――in some pinkish in color, in others gray. To -cool themselves and to escape the biting insects they walk into the -river and lie down, and are so completely submerged that not a spot of -them is visible but the nose. Sometimes we see them standing in the -water and birds hopping along their backs or perching between the huge -horns. The buffalo manifests no annoyance, and the birds have it all -their own way. They are old and familiar friends. These buffaloes are -used in ploughing, and they also tread out the rice. - -As it is now toward the close of the dry season, we frequently meet -men and women fording the river, who in passing near our boat give the -salutation of _Pi n’i tua?_――_i. e._ “Going where? coming from where?” -It is a customary greeting, and carries no impertinence in it. We have -answered this question from prince and peasant many a time during our -journey, and it is rather a suggestive one, as in our reply we add -_why_ we come. - -And here, walking about in the river, are the fishermen, busy by night -and by day in their eager pursuits. At any hour of the night when we -awaken we see their torchlights flashing hither and thither up and -down the river. - -So onward we go, seeing strange new sights and customs, passing -village after village, exchanging greetings with the people; then -through long miles of loneliness, where we are hedged in by trees and -thickets of perennial green; yet with prow ever to the north (Cheung -Mai the lodestone) we are steadily and surely nearing our goal. - -And now, as we round this bend, the plain of Cheung Mai and the grand -old mountains in the north-west come into full view. (The walled city, -a mile distant to the westward, is not in the line of vision.) - -As we move slowly up the river we see on the left bank an old temple -overshadowed by old trees heavy with foliage. On the bank stand a -number of Buddhist priests dressed in their yellow robes, who have -come out of their little houses near the temple to look at the passing -boats. The plain on both sides of the river and to the very banks -abound in bamboo trees, as well as palm, cocoanut and an occasional -banyan tree, which makes a large circumference of shade. In amongst -the trees toward the river are the low bamboo huts of the natives, -with here and there a more pretentious house built of teak-wood and -roofed with tiles; a bridge spans the river. Just beyond the bridge -(north) and on the west side we catch a view of Dr. Cheek’s compound, -and below it on the east side are the mission premises. Ah! how long -we are in going over that last half mile! - -Getting nearer, we see the waiting company on the bank and can feel -the welcome that is all about us. Drawing up to the steps at the -landing, how gladly we leave the boats to meet the cordial reception -of the missionaries and native friends who stand with outstretched -hands to receive us! Then, entering our new home, it is with -thanksgiving and joy that the Master has appointed our service for him -amongst the Laos. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -_RECOLLECTIONS OF CHEUNG MAI._ - - -My friends often say to me, “Tell us something about Laos, where you -lived when a child.” Listen, then, to a few of the things I remember -about Cheung Mai, the people who live in it and some of their customs. - -The province of Cheung Mai is the largest of the six Laos kingdoms, -and is tributary to Siam. As no census is taken amongst this people, -the population cannot be accurately stated, but it is supposed by some -of the missionaries to be about eighty thousand. On the map which -accompanies this book you will see that the capital city, Cheung Mai, -is in latitude 18° 48´ north, and on the west branch of the Menam -River; but the map will not tell you that its suburbs extend for some -distance up and down each side of the river. In America the cities -have no walls around them, but, like most Eastern cities, Cheung Mai -is surrounded by high and thick brick walls, which in many places, -however, have gone to ruin. When there is a rumor of war the king -issues a decree that every man shall bring a teak log to repair the -breaches in the wall. It was on the pretext that our two Laos -Christians had disobeyed this command that they were arrested and so -cruelly put to death. - -You may be interested in what Sir Robert Schomburg says about the -streets of Cheung Mai: “The streets of this city have been -(originally) laid out at right angles. Time, it seems, has worked -changes with regard to their regularity; nevertheless, I have not seen -any other Siamese city laid out apparently so regularly at its -foundation as Cheung Mai appears to have been.” If you could walk -about the streets of the city you would see, instead of our Christian -churches, very many _wats_, or temples, and the _prachadees_ which -seem peculiar to Cheung Mai. Again we quote Schomburg: “‘We pray to -Guadama (or Buddh) on passing a _prachadee_,’ said a Laos. ‘They were -built in memory of him and his divine acts, and some of his doctrines -are written on tablets.’ These remarkable towerlets are only cased -with brickwork and filled up with soil. They are plastered on the -outside, are of pyramidal shape and terminate at the summit in a -sharp-pointed spire.” Most of them are now in a state of decay, and -are covered with vines and other vegetation. You would see no floating -houses in Cheung Mai, as in Bangkok. The houses in the city are built -far enough apart to afford space for the cultivation of flowers, for -which the Laos have a great fondness. If the space is not large -enough, they must still have flowers, so they cultivate house-plants. -As temples are built of brick, it would “offend the spirits” to use -brick for dwelling-houses, and teak-wood or bamboo is used instead. -The bamboo houses of the Laos peasantry are roofed with thatch, the -walls are made of bamboo matting and the floor of bamboo reeds, cut -open so as to lie flat on the sills. Not a nail is used in such a -house, but everything is secured with bamboo or ratan withes. Teak is -the most durable wood we have, the houses built of it being the most -substantial. These houses are covered with burnt tiles, and are more -securely and closely built than the bamboo houses. All houses are -built on posts several feet from the ground, and the teak houses have -verandas, while the bamboo houses have open courts. The king has, -however, built a new palace, and as it is a distant imitation of -foreign houses which he has seen in Bangkok, it is in great advance of -all others in Cheung Mai. - -If a stranger should enter the eastern gate in the morning, his -attention would be attracted by a large concourse of women, who seem -to be dressed alike, as all wear skirts with horizontal stripes and -have their shining black hair combed straight back and looped into a -beautiful knot, which needs no pin to secure it. In this market very -few men are to be seen; the women dress as do the Siamese men. Each -market-woman carries everything in two large neat baskets, which are -suspended from each end of a long, flat, flexible bamboo stick which -lies on her shoulder. Some of these women are seated on mats, with -market-baskets at their sides, while others are hurrying hither and -thither. On the right side of the street is a woman in whose baskets -are vegetables, for which she wishes salt in exchange. Over on the -other side of the street is a woman with rice to sell, but she prefers -silver. Silver is superseding salt as a medium of exchange. By her -side is another woman with bouquets of flowers, for which she finds a -ready sale; the purchasers carefully wrap them in banana-leaves, and -after sprinkling a little water over them deposit them in a cool place -until evening. Late in the afternoon the owner, if a lady, will appear -with the flowers tastefully arranged in her hair, while a gentleman -would wear his blossom in a hole in the lobe of his ear. - -Unless the market-women have been successful in their business they do -not leave the market until the increasing heat of the sun reminds them -that it is time to retrace their steps homeward. Should you wish to -accompany one of these women home, she would make you heartily -welcome. On reaching the house you would first ascend several steps to -the front veranda, which is usually, but not always, covered. From -this veranda you would enter the front room or open court, where the -daughter of the house spreads a clean mat on the floor for you and -gives you a large three-cornered pillow on which you may rest one of -your elbows. As a mark of hospitality a tray or box of betel-nut and -seri-leaf will be set before you, and the invitation given to help -yourself. Though you decline, you will be interested in watching those -who may be seated beside you preparing their quid. The seri- or -betel-leaf is taken first, and its tip overlaid with a minute quantity -of slaked lime; then a pinch of finely-cut tobacco, a piece of cutch -the size of a pea and the fourth of a dried areca-nut are wrapped in -the seri-leaf, completing the mixture, which is chewed with evident -enjoyment. To foreigners this is a very offensive custom, but so -universal is it among both old and young that a box of these -ingredients is carried with them in a bag suspended from the -shoulders. - -Should a member of the family be sick, you might be invited nominally -to see her, but you may be assured that you would have more occasion -to use your ears than your eyes, for the only window in the room is a -round hole about three inches in diameter and several feet from the -floor. The mattress is placed on the floor and surrounded by thick -mosquito-netting, through which you would think it scarcely possible -to breathe. - -In the kitchen the stove consists of a wooden frame about four feet -square and six inches high, filled with earth or sand. On this are -placed three stones or bricks as rests for the pots, and between them -the fire is kindled. As there is neither pipe nor chimney, the smoke -is suffered to make its escape through openings as best it may, and if -it is a bamboo house there is little difficulty. In the dry season -cooking is often done in the yard. - -Setting the table is not a laborious process. The table is round, -about a foot and a half in diameter and six inches high. When -meal-time arrives the table is taken down from its shelf and placed on -the floor, and by it the tall, slender basket of steamed glutinous -rice. On the table is a bowl of curry, hot with pepper and other -spices, a dish of pickled fish and some vegetables and fruit. Every -member of the family dips his rice into the common bowl of curry; but -if any is very fastidious he may have a dish of his own, but when he -has finished his meal, in order to avoid being considered extremely -lazy, he must wash his own dish. - -The women are not kept in bondage, as in China or India, but are a -great power in the land; and the present queen has virtually the reins -of government in her own hands, although her husband is the nominal -head. She and her husband have always been friendly to the mission, -and although the last persecution occurred since they came to the -throne, it was carried on through the influence and power of the -second king. - -As the queen walks out a maid walks behind, carrying over Her Majesty -a large lined and fringed silk umbrella with silvered handle, which -may be about six or eight feet long. Behind this maid is another, -carrying a gold betel-nut box, while dozens of others follow her, all -walking in single file, for two persons are never seen walking side by -side. The queen has several times visited the missionaries in their -homes. While she and the first maids-of-honor are quietly talking in a -lady-like manner in the parlor, her more inquisitive servants are -making a thorough examination of the house and what are, to them, its -curious and strange contents. This annoyance does not arise from -ignorance or lack of refinement of feeling among the people, but -because there are about this court, as well as about every other -court, undesirable satellites. - -Considering their disadvantages, the Laos are a remarkably refined -race, as is shown by many of their customs. Should a person be telling -another of the stream which he had crossed, and wished to say it was -ankle-deep, as he would feel a delicacy in referring to his person, -his expression would be, “I beg your pardon, but the water was -ankle-deep.” If one wished to reach anything above another’s head, he -would beg the latter’s pardon before raising his hand. A great and -passionate love for flowers and music also indicates a delicacy of -feeling. Although, before missionaries went there, the women did not -know how to read, they were always trained to be useful in their -homes, and a Laos girl who does not know how to weave her own dress is -considered as ignorant as a girl in this country who does not know how -to read. - -During the season of rice-planting and harvesting every member of the -family works in the fields, and the baby is left at home under the -care of the next oldest child. The children are thus early taught -self-dependence, and a boy who here would be thought scarcely able to -care for himself is expected, after the planting season, to take care -of the buffaloes in the fields all day long. The Laos use buffaloes -for ploughing, oxen for carrying rice, elephants for bearing other -burdens and ponies for pleasure riding; in which latter only the -gentlemen indulge, the ladies being debarred that pleasure. The motion -of the elephant, which is the chief beast of burden, is a swaying one, -but there is as much difference in the gait of elephants as in the -gait of horses, and those with an easy gait always command very high -prices. The top of a howdah, or elephant’s saddle, is very much like -that of a buggy, and the seat is not unlike the buggy-seat; the -difference being that there is a railing in front which extends a -third of the way across from each side, leaving an opening in the -centre. The person who is so fortunate as to secure the middle seat is -as comfortable as though seated in a chair, having the elephant’s back -as a footstool, but those sitting on either side have to assume the -position taken when seated on the floor. The howdahs for carrying -burdens have no coverings. - -It is exceedingly interesting to watch the elephants when drawing logs -from the river. The teak logs are floated down from the forests, and -the elephants haul them on to land. An elephant is chained to a log, -which he drags to its destination, and after he is unchained he -quietly picks up his chain and walks to the river again. After -bringing up the logs he is very careful that they shall lie entirely -even, and if any end projects he pushes it with his tusks until his -trained eye can see no fault. The air with which he moves back and -forth from the river is very amusing; he seems to say, “I understand -my business.” The baby-elephant is a most mischievous creature, and is -the horror of market-women, because he often insists upon meddling -with the contents of their baskets. - -The holiday which most interests the missionaries’ children is the New -Year, when all, and especially the young, give themselves up to a -peculiar form of merry-making consisting in giving every one a shower. -Armed with buckets of water and bamboo reeds, by which they can squirt -the water some distance, these people place themselves at the doors -and gates and on the streets, ready to give any passer-by a drenching, -marking out as special victims those who are foolish enough to wear -good clothes on such a day. It is most amusing to watch them, after -exhausting their supply of water, hasten to the river or well and run -back, fearing the loss of one opportunity. Sometimes several torrents -are directed to one poor individual; then, after the drenching, shouts -of laughter fill the air. On this day the king and his court, with a -long retinue of slaves, go to the river. Some of the attendants carry -silver or brass basins filled with water perfumed with some scented -shrub or flower. When the king reaches the river’s brink he goes a few -steps into the water, where he takes his stand, while the princes and -nobles surround him. The perfumed water is then poured on the king’s -head, afterward on the heads of the nobles, and they plunge into the -river with noisy splashings and laughter. The custom is also observed -in families. A basin of water is poured on the head of the father, -mother and grandparents by the eldest son or by some respected member -of the family. This ceremony has some religious significance, being -symbolical of blessings and felicity; a formula of prayer accompanies -the ceremony in each case. - -There is a mountain about five miles from Cheung Mai on whose summit -is said to be a large footprint of Buddha; hence it is sacred ground, -and over it has been built a temple. Into the room over that sacred -spot none but priests are allowed to enter. When passing on the -streets, it is sad to hear the priests repeating their prayers, which -are literally “vain repetitions,” “for they think that they shall be -heard for their much speaking.” Besides the worship of Buddha, and in -seeming opposition to it, are the worship of evil spirits and the -belief in witchcraft. If a person is sick it must be ascertained who -is the person in whom resides the spirit that caused the sickness. -When found, he and his family are banished to a distant province and -his house and goods burned. This is a sure method of wreaking -vengeance on an enemy; if the sick has no grudge against any one, and -is averse to accusing his neighbors, he is beaten until the spirit -within him permits him to reveal the secret. A widow and two sons, -thus accused, sought the protection of the mission, and were allowed -to remain on the mission-compound. They have since become Christians, -and the two boys are in school expecting to study for the ministry. -This experiment has since been tried several times by the -missionaries, and always with success, as the natives do not now dare -to meddle with those under the protection of foreign residents. Has -not evil in this case been turned into a means of good? These people -are thus brought into daily contact with the missionaries and -constantly hear the gospel preached. So great is the Laos superstition -that after one of the missionaries had taken with him one of these -boys to a village on a missionary-tour, the request came from the -villagers that next time the boy be left at home, because he caused -sickness in the village. The answer was given that he had been with -the missionaries a long time and had done no harm. “Oh, well,” said -they, “the spirits are afraid of you foreigners, and when the boys go -into your yard the spirits climb up the tamarind trees by your gate -and wait until they again leave your yard, when the spirits enter them -again.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -_A DAY AT CHEUNG MAI._ - - -WASHING THE IDOLS. - -Let me take you in imagination to our home in the Laos country. The -house is on the banks of the river Maping, and faces the west. As you -walk from the front gate up through the yard you will notice orange -trees, cocoanut, bamboo, mango and tamarind, with the pomegranate, -custard-apple, guava and coffee tree of smaller growth. Some of the -flowers will seem familiar, as the rose, tiger-lily and one which -bears a resemblance to the beautiful calla. The passion-flower, too, -is here, with greater luxuriance of growth than in America, and many -tropical flowers with heavy waxen petals having a rich perfume. Seated -on the veranda, your eye takes in the view of river, plain and distant -mountain, over which the bright sunshine is streaming. No wonder you -exclaim, “Beautiful for situation is sunny Cheung Mai!” - -But now let me take you to the ceremony of _idol-bathing_, which -occurs yearly. We will get our hats and umbrellas, for it is afternoon -and this is the “hot season,” and join the groups of women who are -passing to the nearest temple, about half a mile distant from the -mission premises. Look how neat and clean they appear, dressed in -white jackets and the Balmoral-patterned Laos skirts, with long muslin -scarfs of crimson, purple, yellow or pink thrown over the breast and -shoulders, and with flowers to contrast or correspond with the scarfs -in their glossy black hair. Each woman bears in her hand a metal -basin――in some cases of silver――containing scented water. They have -spent part of the morning compounding perfumery from spices or -flowers, which, when duly prepared, is thrown into the basin with -fresh well-water just before leaving home. If you peep into the basin -you will see newly-gathered flowers lying on the top of the water. It -looks dainty, but its destiny is to wash off the dusty, musty idols -that sit in darkness in their allotted corner from year to year. As -the women pass along they talk merrily together. You will see children -and bright-eyed girls as well as matrons and aged women. - -As we approach the temple we get glimpses of its white walls through -the foliage of the large trees which overshadow it. It is built of -brick and plastered. The outer walls are whitened and have a polished -appearance. It is surrounded by a low wall, built also of brick and -plastered. We enter through a gate just in front of the temple-door. -How neatly the grounds are kept, and how shady and pleasant they seem! -In the same enclosure are the little houses where the priests eat and -sleep. There are quite a number of these priests, young and old, -walking about the grounds, dressed in yellow robes and with -closely-shaven heads. - -As we pass from the bright, warm sunshine into the dark, dreary -building a feeling of gloom and sadness strikes the soul. The floor is -hard, like stone, being made of some preparation of plaster and -cement, and it looks cold and cheerless. The dull, high walls are -without even a window to break the dismal outline. - -On the side opposite the door is the shrine of Buddha. By the light of -the little waxen tapers we observe a large idol of perhaps four feet -in length, with proportionate body, made of wood and overlaid with -gold-leaf. On a shelf below where this sleepy Buddha sits are scores -of smaller idols, covered with gold or silver and similar in -appearance to the large image. If we go nearer we shall see some of -the offerings the women have brought and laid on this shrine. There -are garlands of lovely flowers which fill the air with a heavy -perfume, fruit of different kinds, piles of newly-made yellow robes, -new mats, pillows with embroidered work, etc. These are all for the -priests, and have been prepared by the skillful hands of women. You -soon notice that more than three-fourths of those present are women. - -As the time for their so-called worship has come, we look about for -seats, but as none are provided, we shall have to do as the others do, -sit down on the floor. The Laos women are kind and polite, and we soon -find quite a number of soft straw mats at our service, with -invitations to come and sit on this or that mat. Selecting our places, -we are soon seated in an audience of heathen worshipers. How -depressing and melancholy it all seems! The flickering flames of the -tapers cast a weird light over the stupid countenance of the large -idol, toward which every face is turned. The worshiping is not -simultaneous; there is neither rule nor order in it. Neighbors who -have not met for some time are chatting together in an ordinary tone -of voice. A woman sitting by us is inquiring if we are comfortable, if -this is not a pleasant occasion, if this is one of the ways we are -accustomed to worship, etc. While answering her questions we are -observing two women in front of us. One is a mother with a young child -on her knee, in whose little hands she places a sweet, bright flower; -then she closes the tiny hands, palm to palm, the flower projecting -from the tips of the fingers, the stem within the palms. She then, -pressing the hands closely with hers, raises them above its baby head, -at the same time inclining its body in a bow toward the image of -Buddha. So soon do the heathen mothers begin to teach their religion -to their little ones. The other woman is very aged, and she places her -hands just as the baby did, and, raising them high above her head, -bends her body forward till her head and hands are pressing the stony -floor. How abject, how devout she looks in her prostration before the -idol! But she is again, in a minute, taking up the conversation where -it was broken off, with quite a hearty laugh at some passing remark. - -By this time a priest begins in a monotonous tone to read from one of -the sacred books. The talking and laughing are going on in the mean -time. No one present understands what is being read, the reader -included, for it is in the Pali language, but they imagine some -blessing comes from the reading, although it is in an unknown tongue. - -This over, the ceremony of bathing the idols follows. All rise to -their feet, the women getting their basins of water ready, while the -men carry out the small images and place them in a miniature temple of -bamboo which has been temporarily prepared in the yard. When they are -all arranged the women gather around, and each one dashes her basin of -water over them, but not touching one of them with the end of a -finger; they are too sacred for a woman’s hand to touch. The splashing -and dashing of the water is attended with great hilarity, terminating -in a noisy romp. - -As we turn homeward from this scene can we refrain from praying, -“Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, and reveal thyself to these poor -benighted ones”? In the evening, as we stand again on the veranda, -looking at the sunset, we see on the opposite side of the river a -number of men and women busily gathering up sand and putting it into -baskets. You are astonished when I tell you that this sand is carried -to the temple-grounds and thrown into piles known as _sand-gods_, and -a kind of worship is offered to them. As the night comes on the people -scatter away to their homes; the noisy tumult subsides, leaving a -quiet hush which we welcome most gratefully. But hark! that deep, -heavy _thud! thud!_ in the distance. What is it? It is the beating of -the great drums which are hung in the temple-grounds, to awaken or -notify their gods that an offering is about to be made. You will hear -them at intervals through the night, even into the morning watches. - -When the sun goes from you in America this evening it will rise upon -the poor Laos people to awaken them to some of their many forms of -idolatry. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -_A LAOS CABIN._ - - -The cabin of the picture could hardly have been copied from any one in -Cheung Mai. In the garden districts temporary huts may be found which -resemble this one. But these, being for the most part on the open -plain, are without the shade of palm or other trees. - -The Laos captives near Petchaburee live in houses whose roofs have a -circular appearance. The gables are enclosed with thatch, so arranged -as to form a continuous roof with that of the house. This roof reaches -so low as to shut out all view of the house itself from the passer-by. -These people have come from the north, where both cold and storms are -more severe than where they now live. In Cheung Mai, the eaves of the -roofs and the ends projecting beyond the gables are sometimes caught -with such force by the whirling storm that the roof is carried away. -The whole of this house seems to be resting upon those short posts -which fork at the top. In most of the houses of the Cheung Mai -peasantry these short posts serve to support only the flooring. Strong -beams or sills are laid upon them. Bamboo poles are laid across these -sills about a foot apart and tied with ratan. Over these is spread the -bamboo flooring. This is made from the trunk of a large-sized bamboo. -It is cut into the proper lengths, and these are gashed lengthwise all -over their surface by repeated strokes of the knife or axe. By this -process the sticks become quite pliable. They are then slit open by -passing the knife through one side of them from end to end. The broken -and jagged edges of the inner side of the joints are smoothed off, and -we have bamboo boards a foot or more wide. This flooring bends under -the pressure of the feet, and when dry makes a creaking noise, which -is not very pleasant. When riddled by a small black beetle that -burrows in its fibres, it becomes unsafe to tread upon, and sometimes -one breaks through it. But by putting it, when green, into water, and -keeping it submerged until it passes through the process of -fermentation, it is, in a great measure, free from the ravages of this -beetle. The many chinks in this bamboo floor offer convenient passage -for the streams of red saliva that flow from the mouths of its -betel-chewing inmates. - -[Illustration: A LAOS HOME.] - -The walls and roofs of these huts are supported by posts set in the -ground some two feet of their length and reaching to the plates. The -ridge of the roof also rests upon posts of the necessary length. The -posts for the walls are arranged according to a long-observed custom. -They must be in sets of threes or fives, etc.; odd numbers bring luck. -The spaces between each of these sets of posts have specific names. -Religious superstition takes under its guidance almost every part of -the work, and when the house is done it still directs as to the day -and the manner of moving in to take possession. No doors or windows -are found in the eastern wall. The family sleep with their heads -toward the east. Part of the main building――generally the end facing -south――is reserved for an open court. The east end of this court has a -wall continuous with that of the house. Along this wall is a shelf -upon which are placed flowers and other offerings in worship of Buddha -and the good spirits. In this outer court, if the family are -religiously inclined, the priests, by invitation, occasionally conduct -a merit-making service for the prosperity of the household. In cases -of sickness like services are held here. Preventives of sickness or -other calamity are often seen resting on the top of the posts under -the plate that receives the rafters. These consist of small pieces of -cloth on which are written certain symbolic characters, the cloths -themselves having become charms, potent against the intrusion of evil -spirits, through the incantations of what our American Indians would -call “medicine-men.” - -To make the cabin of the picture a copy of the common Cheung Mai -house, the stair-ladder and the southern wall, as seen there, must be -removed. A platform from eight to twelve feet wide must be raised -within a few inches as high as the floor of the main building. This -platform must extend from near the centre of the house at its southern -end, beyond its south-western corner, to give passage-way to the -kitchen. At the west end of this platform stands a covered settle for -the earthen water-pots which hold water for drinking and cooking. The -outer posts of this platform rise high enough to support a railing, -and a board on top of this railing gives room for earthen flower-pots -and for boxes of earth in which are growing, for family use, onions, -red pepper, garlic, etc. The floor of the platform serves in daytime -for drying betel-nuts and fruit. At night, after the heat of the day, -it furnishes a place for rest under the cooling sky. The stairs are -placed at the end of this platform. Such a house may be built entirely -of bamboo except the grass thatch required for the roof. Neither -hammer nor nail is needed for its construction. The different parts -are held together by thongs of split bamboo or ratan. These houses are -built at small cost. Very many of them are kept neat and tidy. And -they have their conveniences. The writer had occasion to pay a native -peasant a considerable sum of money. This man, after counting the -rupees and testing their genuineness, one by one, by poising it on the -tip of his finger and tapping it gently with another rupee, tied the -money up in a piece of rag, and, rising, dropped it from the top into -the hollow of one of the posts that supported the wall behind him. -This post gave him a perfect concealment for his treasure. It was -_his_ “safe,” answering the same purpose to him that the iron one, -with its intricate locks, does to the banker, except that in the case -of the Oriental a stray spark would soon set his house and his “safe” -ablaze together. Still, he could linger near for the few moments it -would take the flame to lick up his house, and very soon after he -would have his silver rupees, melted, it might possibly be, into a -common mass. - -There is no time――nor is it necessary――to speak of the trees that -throw around and over the houses of the native peasantary their cool -and protecting shade. Many of these houses are hidden away among the -trees, some of which, for size, vie with those of the forest. Among -the most beautiful of these trees are clumps of bamboo, from which -material has been obtained for the building or repair of the very -houses which they now envelop in their shade. - -The owners of this little cabin seem busy――and happy as they are -busy――at work. The wife may be cleaning the fish which her husband -caught last night in a neighboring stream and brought home in that -vase-shaped bamboo basket sitting behind her to the right. If so, she -will string them in a row upon a bamboo splint, and when the fire is -built she will stick the splint in the ground near enough to the fire -to cook the fish. The husband is preparing the pot to cook or steam -the rice. A neighbor woman was passing along, and has stopped to talk -a few minutes and to see the woman cleaning her fish. Splint baskets -of different sizes and shapes are standing around (some of them under -the dwelling)――indications of industry and thrift. - -There are a few of these bamboo cabins on the plains of Cheung Mai -which have become vocal with the prayers and praises of God’s people. -Before the gospel came to them their inmates shared in common with -their neighbors the transient joys of earth. For their fears and -griefs they had no solace, either from earth or heaven. Now the “Light -of life” shines into their souls, and they “joy in the Lord that -bought them.” And, however humble their homes may be, however fragile, -the Saviour abides with them, and is preparing them for and leading -them to his Father’s house. The light, too, is shining from these -Christian cabins to others yet in darkness. The Saviour has purposes -of mercy for other homes in the cities and villages of these northern -Laos. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -_SUPERSTITIONS OF THE LAOS._ - - -A full account of the superstitions of the Laos would very fairly -represent their intellectual attainments: their reasoning facilities -are entirely in subjection to the imagination in accounting for the -most ordinary natural phenomena; their reverential awe of supposed -supernatural agencies stands in the place of any rational perception -of natural causes. As, however, anything like a full statement of -their superstitions would fill a volume, nothing more than a slight -sketch of some of their more common superstitions will be attempted in -this chapter. - -It is difficult for any one living in a community surrounded with all -the products of the inventive genius of man, and in the enjoyment of -the varied results of intellectual development, to form any adequate -conception of the benighted condition of the Laos mind as is indicated -by a statement of some of the miserable absurdities entertained by -them as sober and fundamental truths. Among them we can see examples -in daily life of those hideous spectres of superstition such as served -to guide the pitiful gropings of the intellectual and moral life of -Europe three centuries ago. The man who should speak lightly of -necromancy or deny the existence of spirits of every shade of -malignity presiding over the affairs of society, or question the -propriety of cutting off the heads of sorcerers, would be, in the -ordinary affairs of life, untrustworthy, in religion a heretic, and in -legislation a candidate for the honor of decapitation. Average Laos -credulity――and the Laos are all average――will accept any absurdity, -however monstrous, provided only it be supernatural. Consequently, any -operation of nature outside of the most ordinary is satisfactorily -accounted for by reference to some demon or spirit, or some other -equally plausible account is given in explanation of the phenomenon. -So the uprooting of a tree by a hurricane is the work of an enraged -spirit; an earthquake is produced by an immense fish moving its fins; -while a horde of demons preside over the mountains, the forests, the -fields and streams. A special divinity is supposed to preside over -each forest, and the hunter who collects the honey of the wild bee -must make an offering to this divinity to ensure a good yield of -honey. Indeed, almost every transaction of social or domestic life -must be effected with direct reference to one or another of a -multitude of spirits. - -A Laos going on a journey must hunt him out a wise man, one who can -read, and ascertain a lucky day for starting; this is done by -consulting a kind of astrological table. A day of the week being found -to coincide properly with a day of the moon and with the nativity of -the pilgrim, offerings are duly made to the spirits, to ensure, if not -their good-will, at least their neutrality; then with a feeling of -security the journey is undertaken. No imaginable exigency of business -could induce a Laos to depart from this method; and the occasional -impetuosity of a foreigner arouses in a Laotian a sleepy kind of -compassionate wonder. The commander entering upon a campaign can move -only upon a lucky day and after making the necessary offerings, which -is a ceremony involving delay and careful attention just in proportion -to the importance of the expedition. Traders traveling by boats cannot -enter or leave the mountains through which the river winds without a -prayer and an offering of wax tapers, flowers and incense to the -mountain-spirits; a neglect of this ceremony may entail the loss of a -boat in the rapids, or indeed any calamity. - -Twice a year offerings are made to the spirits of the river for having -defiled the water by bathing and by throwing refuse into it. Toy boats -and rafts are made, upon which are placed flowers, betel-nut, -seri-leaf, incense and lighted tapers; this offering is a public -ceremony, and is performed once in the eleventh month and once in the -twelfth month, the lighted boats and rafts making a very pretty -illumination of the river. - -When any one is dangerously ill, one method of appeasing the spirits -is to make a miniature boat or raft, on which are placed clay images, -rice, vegetables, meat, fruits and other food, flowers and wax tapers; -the boat or raft is placed either upon the water or in the street, -whichever is the public highway. The spirits are supposed to find this -food, etc. and accept the token of homage. - -For three months of the year, during Buddhist Lent, lanterns are hung -aloft to guide the spirits through the air, and thus leave them no -excuse for coming down in the streets. The observance of this custom -is very general, and is probably so, partly at least, from the fact of -its being a very sickly season, diseases being supposed to be due to -the spirits. - -During the latter part of the dry season (from February to May) the -Laos people very religiously observe the various rites and ceremonies -of spirit-worship. This is a season in which no remunerative work for -the people at large can be engaged in, and, perhaps in consequence of -this, the time is occupied in various religious observances, and these -are principally spirit-worshipings. - -One ceremony which was originally peculiar to the Peguans (descendants -of war-captives), but has been to a considerable extent adopted by the -Laos, is observed at this season. All the family connections join in -having a spirit-festival. A booth is built; food and drink are -provided in abundance for those who participate in the ceremony; the -booth is canopied with white muslin supported by light bamboo posts, -and is open all around, with arches made of cocoanut-leaves; at one -side of the booth is a space partially enclosed with gay screens, in -which the offerings to the spirits are placed on a table. These -offerings consist of food and drink, also clothing. From the centre of -the canopy is suspended a white cotton sheet. The ceremony is a dance -performed only by women, who enter the enclosure, and, after partaking -freely of the food――these spirits have a special weakness for pork and -whiskey――bury their faces in the suspended sheet mentioned above, -waiting for the descent of the spirit. The dancers do not have to wait -long for the entrance of the spirit, for the whiskey has made them -very sensitive to the spirit-influence; when the spirit has entered -the medium begins to sway her body to and fro and to gesticulate with -the hands and arms, after the fashion of Laos dancing, to the music of -a Laos orchestra. Laos music is appropriate to such an occasion, for -it is a combination of agonizing sounds which for harshness cannot -perhaps be excelled. The spirits seem to have thirsted for a year, for -the fair dancers make frequent visits to the whiskey, and even -affectionately take a bottle in each hand and dance around with them, -never neglecting to administer to the insatiable thirst of the spirit. -After attaining to an advanced stage of intoxication the dancers array -themselves in the costumes provided for the spirits――usually articles -of men’s clothing――and, arming themselves with swords and spears, they -stagger after intruders or acquaintances, who, if caught, must engage -in the dance. This unseemly revelry continues from early morn until -dark, the Laos band rendering the one favorite air without ceasing, -except to take an occasional draught of the beverage sacred to the -spirits. - -While the Laos believe that the universe is controlled by spirits, -their belief in magic implies that certain persons can command the -services of some of the spirits to accomplish the darkest designs. No -superstition is more general throughout Siam and Laos than the belief -in magic. Among the Laos it is supposed that a sorcerer can command a -spirit to assume the form of an insect, which, flying against the -person whose destruction is intended, enters him and is transformed -usually into a buffalo hide, though it may assume after entering the -body of the victim any form, according to the will of the sorcerer. -The Siamese very generally believe that the Laos possess this occult -power, and the Laos, knowing little concerning it, credit the Karens -and other mountain-tribes with it. About two years ago two Karens were -brought to the city of Cheung Mai by some of their neighbors, charged -with having caused the death of a young man by enchantment. The case -was very clear against the accused. The young man had a musical -instrument which these Karens wished to purchase; the owner refused to -sell it, and a short time afterward he became ill, and died, I -believe, on the fourteenth day of his illness; at his cremation a -portion of his body would not burn and was of a shape similar to the -musical instrument. Thus it was clear that his death had been caused -by a spirit entering his body and taking the form of the coveted -musical instrument. The Karens were beheaded, protesting that they -were innocent of the crime charged against them, and threatening that -their spirits should return and wreak vengeance for their unjust -punishment. It is but just to add that cases of this kind are not of -frequent occurrence. - -These nightmares of the Laos imagination are almost incredible to us, -though they are terrible realities to them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -_TREATMENT OF THE SICK._ - - -The treatment of the sick among the Laos ranks as a distinct -profession. Although the Laos doctors may not have classified their -knowledge of diseases in a way that we should call scientific, and -although a white foreigner might be so unsolicitous of his own bodily -welfare as to prefer the chance of nature to the professional skill of -the whole Laos faculty, still, their system of medicine is quite an -extensive one and embraces some very abstruse subjects. The Laos -doctors are not required to have a diploma and do not attend any -medical school, nor do they, as a rule, serve an apprenticeship; they -just take to doctoring naturally. Some of them are widely known as -successful general practitioners; others gain considerable notoriety -in the treatment of certain diseases and become specialists of wide -reputation. Some three or four medical books, treating of the -mysteries of vital phenomena and learnedly elucidating the doctrine of -the four elements, enrich Laos literature; these classic volumes also -contain invaluable formulæ, and the doctor who is so fortunate as to -own one of these books is held in high repute for his superior -learning, notwithstanding he may not be able to decipher a line of it. -Practically, the Laos, so far as the average doctor is concerned, have -no medical treatises. - -The Laos are without a definite knowledge of any of the organs or -functions of the human body; no Harvey or Sylvius has ever arisen -among them. All of their theories concerning the bodily functions and -the four elements are merely philosophic guesses. Imagination has -taken the place of reason and experiment. Speculation furnishes them -with a satisfactory solution of the problem, “Why is it that instead -of flesh (muscles) only, tendons are found in the human body?” - -The Laos divide diseases into two classes. The first class includes -all those disorders which may be considered as simply disturbances of -equilibrium caused by an undue preponderance or diminution of one of -the four elements――wind, fire, earth and water; the second class -embraces all those more serious disorders of the human system which -are due directly or indirectly to the influence of offended spirits. - -The Laos materia medica embraces a considerable variety of medicines, -nearly every one of which is supposed to be a specific in some -disease; and, although his ideas of the medicinal qualities of these -drugs may be entirely theoretical, not to say fanciful, the Laos -doctor administers them just as freely as if he had experimentally -demonstrated their physiological properties. The bones, teeth, blood -and gall of the tiger, bear, elephant, rhinoceros and crocodile are -among the most highly-esteemed remedies; besides their specific -curative properties, these medicines impart the courage of the tiger, -the stability, dignity and longevity of the elephant, the solemnity -and tranquillity of the crocodile, the equanimity, contentment and -philosophic indifference to external things and other virtues -characteristic of the rhinoceros. Likewise, they eat the bones of the -raven to protect them from evil spirits, and perhaps also to enable -them to eat with impunity and relish of any dish; it is to be feared -that certain purloining instincts of this bird have been communicated -in this way! - -Patient observation and intelligent experimental investigation are -entirely unknown to the Laos medicine-man; it is doubtful if he has, -either by intelligent experiment or by accident, arrived at one -solitary verifiable fact either in physiology or therapeutics; -satisfied with his supposed stock of knowledge, he has no desire to -increase it. - -When called to see a patient the Laos doctor states authoritatively -what the ailment is; then proceeds to prepare a dose of medicine, -which process it is interesting to watch. Seating himself upon a mat -on the floor, he calls for the medicine-stone――a block of fine -sandstone kept in nearly every house――and upon it rubs his drugs, -which are carried in the crude form. The dose is composed of -indefinite proportions of various roots, herbs and minerals, the -teeth, bones, blood and gall of the tiger, bear, crocodile, etc., -egg-shells, and anything else that the doctor may have; for, perhaps -with a view to alternative conditions, he uses a portion of every drug -he has, thus leaving slim chances of any unrecognized or latent -symptom remaining untouched. The portions of the various drugs worn -off by these rubbings are carefully washed into an earthen vessel, and -water to the amount of about half a gallon is added; this makes one -dose, or, in case the patient is not strong enough or is not of -sufficient capacity, the medicine is to be administered in small -doses――say half a pint or so――every half hour. This kind of treatment -is continued for two or three days, or, if the patient is -exceptionally vigorous, it may continue longer, a new doctor usually -taking charge of the patient on each succeeding day. The attending -physician usually remains by his patient day and night until it is -decided to call in another doctor or until convalescence is -established. If the patient grows worse, two or three doctors are -called in during the day, each one promising to effect a cure, and -each in turn is dismissed if an immediate improvement is not evident. -This is continued until the exhausted sufferer no longer tosses to and -fro, but lies unconscious, breathing hard, the patient watching of the -fond mother or sister is nearly over, the anxious pleading whisper is -hushed, and the death-wail tells that another home is desolate, -another soul seeks its eternal destiny. - -As already mentioned, the Laos imagine many diseases to be caused by -spirits. Those diseases which are peculiarly fatal, and over which -they can exercise little or no control, are supposed to be due to -agencies outside of nature. This belief encourages a disposition to -neglect the investigation of natural causes and to multiply the -instances of supposed supernatural manifestations. Thus the appeal to -the supernatural to account for those deadly diseases so common in -tropical climates strengthens and extends the superstitious belief -which alone furnishes this interpretation of the mysterious phenomena -of nature. This tendency to bring the intellectual faculties under -subjection to the imagination is, of course, not limited to the realm -of diseases, for every extraordinary phenomenon is supposed to be -supernatural. The prevalence of fatal diseases and the frequency of -epidemics secure this stronghold of superstition; any scheme which has -for its object the elevation and enlightenment, the religious and -intellectual regeneration, of the Laos must include efficient medical -work, for in no other way can these superstitions be more immediately -affected than by the rational treatment of diseases. - -This belief in the supernatural causation of diseases is not confined -to those disorders which are of rare occurrence: many forms of disease -of every-day occurrence are attributed to spirits. Rheumatism is said -to be caused by a “swamp-spirit;” the treatment for it might be said -to be more surgical than medical. When a person is afflicted with a -swamp-spirit, the doctor takes an axe or a large knife and draws the -edge of it along the affected part, without, however, touching it, at -the same time advising the spirit to return to its former abode. - -Epileptic seizures are supposed to be due to spirits, and the proper -treatment is for two or more men to stand upon the thighs and pelvis -of the unfortunate sufferer, and so prevent the entrance of the spirit -into some of the vital organs. This plan is said to be quite -successful, as many patients so treated have recovered. - -The absurdities of superstitious belief among the Laos might be -multiplied indefinitely: these instances are, however, sufficient. -Impressed with a sense of their utter helplessness in dealing with -those mysterious agencies which are so hostile to them, they -invariably conclude that man is subject to the government of invisible -and malignant beings of whom he can know nothing, and whose anger, -when aroused, no merely material agencies can appease. So in every -case of sickness offerings must be made to the offended spirits; -readings from the sacred books and prayers must be rehearsed. - -These beliefs, however, as long as they remain general and -theoretical, are mild in their effects in comparison with another -superstition of the Laos, which I must not fail to mention. Abandoning -the vague and general, in this superstition their belief becomes -terribly specific: they imagine that the spirit or essence of one -living person may enter the body of another person and inflict serious -injuries, and, unless expelled, even destroy life; furthermore, they -can ascertain whose spirit it is. This kind of spirit they term _Pee -K’a_. Hysteria, delirium, variation of surface temperature are among -the symptoms supposed to indicate this kind of possession. The -treatment is a specialty, and the doctors who understand these cases -gain great notoriety and are sent for from far and near to exorcise -the spirits. The exorcism involves a practice full of savage cruelty -to the patient and of barbarous injustice to the unfortunate neighbor -whose spirit is accused of having entered the patient. I had -repeatedly requested permission to witness an investigation of one of -these cases, and at last had an opportunity. I learned that the -patient had some months ago suffered from a protracted illness -(probably typhoid fever), and during her illness had lost the power of -speech. She recovered gradually and became quite well and strong, but -was still unable to speak. One day she went with a party of children -to a temple, and while there spoke a few words more or less -distinctly; her companions became alarmed and ran home. Supposing the -case to be one of witchcraft, the owner (the girl was a slave) sent -for the spirit-doctor; three of these specialists were present when I -reached the place. After asking some questions concerning the previous -illness of the patient, a consultation was in order, the most -important feature of which seemed to be the drinking of a bowl of -arrack (whiskey distilled from rice); these spirit-doctors took -frequent and prolonged draughts; they drank as if to slake an ancient -thirst. I thought they liked it, but I was informed that the learned -doctors drank simply in order to facilitate their communication with -the spirit, and that the chances were that they did not like the taste -of whiskey. - -Having at length decided upon a suitable line of action, the doctors -proceeded to the investigation of the case. The most eminent of the -doctors――at least the one who had consumed the most whiskey――took a -tiger’s tooth, and, muttering some gibberish, drew it along the side -and back of the patient, leaving deep scratches; the patient, unable -to speak, of course writhed and struggled. At length, after a deeper -incision (which drew the blood), the patient uttered an audible cry; -this sound was interpreted by the ferocious, drunken spirit-doctors to -indicate the situation of the spirit. With a vigorous thrust in the -side, while his assistant, thinking he had discovered the spirit in -another region, was equally attentive, the chief inquisitor with foul -and abusive language ordered the spirit to leave. The exorcism was a -failure, and the spirit refused to make itself known, though -pressingly flattered to do so by the persuasive and forcible eloquence -of these three drunken, demoniac savages. - -In these investigations any injury inflicted is directed against the -spirit, and any answers to questions asked by the doctor or the -friends of the patient are supposed to proceed from the spirit; so the -doctor asks the name of the spirit, and the patient, if conscious or -partly so, will, in order to escape torture, give the name of some -acquaintance, probably some near and intimate neighbor; for usually -some suspicion will have been expressed. The name of some one having -been mentioned by the patient, various questions concerning the -domestic relations of the family of the person named are asked, such -as the names of all the members of the family, the number of cattle -they own, the amount of money they have, and sundry other questions -concerning things supposed to be known only to members of the family. -If to all these questions satisfactory answers are given, the person -whose name is mentioned is accused of witchcraft, and, together with -all his family, all in the house, must leave the neighborhood; -everything belonging to them, except such articles as can be easily -removed, is committed to the flames; they cannot sell their gardens -nor rice-fields nor any other possession, since no one will risk the -supposed contamination. The accused cannot settle in any adjoining -neighborhood, but must go as strangers into some distant province -occupied only by others like themselves driven from their homes upon -charges of witchcraft. All the accumulations of a lifetime of thrift -and economy may at any time be sacrificed to the whims of this blind -credulity. This superstition is one of the greatest social evils; -indeed, it entails more serious injury than all other beliefs and -practices combined. No one receives any benefit from it; it is purely -destructive. Hundreds of families are yearly driven from their homes -in obedience to the requirements of this degrading prostitution of the -human intellect. - - -MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK AMONG THE LAOS. - -Since the establishment of the Cheung Mai mission in 1867 the -missionaries have made the care of the sick a part of their regular -work. Dr. Vrooman was the first missionary physician sent to Cheung -Mai; he was compelled, on account of his health, to leave there in -1873, having remained only about two years. Dr. Vrooman’s successor -arrived in Cheung Mai in the spring of 1875. During the six months -ending Sept. 30, 1875, about six hundred patients received treatment -of the foreign doctor. The work has increased steadily since that -time; in the year ending Sept. 30, 1882, thirteen thousand persons -received treatment. This increase in seven years from about one -thousand to thirteen thousand a year indicates that the work of the -medical missionary supplies a demand. - -Because of having no hospital accommodations, the work has been -chiefly dispensary work, while as many as could be personally attended -have been visited at their homes. Notwithstanding this large increase -in the number of patients treated, the results of the medical work -have not been very gratifying. The difficulties with which one has to -struggle in dispensary work or house visitation are so great as to -render any effort almost devoid of satisfactory results from a -professional point of view; and, obviously, the conditions which -interfere with the medical work will also interfere with the -missionary work; in fact, what are molehills in the former become -mountains in the latter. - -The houses of the Laos are located and built in violation of all -hygienic considerations, and in addition to the counteracting -influences arising from the imperfect sanitary surroundings, the -foreign physician has to contend against persistent meddlesome -interference with his directions; and in this contention he wages a -losing warfare, for he has arrayed against him that influence which is -so potent everywhere――namely, the prestige of ancient superstitions -sanctioned by ignorance and custom. In the treatment of diseases the -skill of the most competent physician is of no avail without the -faithful and skillful execution of his orders, which can be -accomplished alone by an intelligent and sympathizing nurse――I might -rather say, a trained nurse. The foreign physician is usually sent for -as a last resort, and is simply expected to perform a miracle; and -unless he in a measure satisfies the wildest requirements he is -pronounced a failure, and his presence is considered as rather an -intrusion and a source of mischief; for he forbids ceremonies which -are supposed to be essential to the welfare of the household, a -neglect of which may occasion both immediate and remote disaster. -Although spirit-worship and other religious observances are of -paramount importance in their homes, they willingly neglect them when -treated upon our own premises. - -Upon entering a sick chamber the physician finds the air almost -suffocating, and must conduct his examination by the dim light of a -small wax taper, for in the construction of a Laos house the principal -object to be attained seems to be the utter exclusion of light, there -being no doors or windows except the necessary entrance. The -examination concluded, the physician gives his directions concerning -the management of the patient and goes his way, with the assurance -that his instructions will be regarded by the friends of the patient -as of some importance or as utterly insignificant, just according to -their own views of the case. - -Dispensary work is equally unsatisfactory. The friends of the patients -come to the dispensary and describe as well as they can the most -obvious symptoms, and from the information obtained in this -exceedingly unsatisfactory way an opinion as to the nature of the -patient’s ailment must be arrived at and a prescription made. The -results of such a method could not be otherwise than unsatisfactory -even with intelligent nursing and a faithful observance of directions. -As to the nursing of the sick among the Laos, it is sufficient to -state that it is such as to seriously compromise any favorable -tendencies, and the directions given by the physician are usually -subject to any amendments that may be suggested by the inclinations of -the patient or the opinions of nurses or friends. If supposed to be -seriously ill, the patient is visited by a throng of relatives, -friends and acquaintances, and is disturbed by a ceaseless hum of -voices; elderly ladies entertain one another at the bedside of the -patient with the fullest accounts of the nature, course, duration and -proper treatment of similar cases which they have witnessed, some of -them relating the circumstances of the marvelous cures effected by -some skillful doctor while others dwell upon the melancholy import of -the symptoms. - -Having concluded his daily routine of dispensary work, the foreign -doctor makes his second visit to his patient. Arrived at the house, he -probably finds it filled with the relatives and friends of the -patient, all devoutly attending a reading from the Buddhist scriptures -by a priest or a number of priests, according to the means of the -patient; long prayers and chants are rehearsed, sacred water is -sprinkled over the patient, offerings of flowers and wax tapers are -made to the household spirits. After this ceremony, which lasts for -several hours, the patient passes into the hands of a native doctor. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -_A TOUR IN THE LAOS COUNTRY._ - - This journey was made by G. W. Vrooman, M. D., and the Rev. - Mr. McGilvary in 1872, to ascertain, in a portion of the - East but little known to us, the size and comparative - importance of the Laos chief cities and villages in - reference to missionary work, to preach the gospel, and to - observe the disposition of the authorities and people toward - foreigners, especially toward teachers of the Christian - religion. - - -During the early part of the dry season our time had been so occupied -that it was not till after the first heavy showers of the rainy season -had fallen that we decided to go. Our journey, in consequence, was -hurriedly made, and the time we remained in different cities was -barely sufficient to allow us opportunity to accomplish our objects -satisfactorily to ourselves. At our stopping-places the gospel was -preached and a few books were distributed――few, because we had no -more. We visited the authorities, made known the object of our journey -through their country, and endeavored to ascertain the leading -features relative to their provinces, their population, extent, etc., -and to judge whether sufficient encouragement was offered to repeat -the visit at some future time. - -After deciding upon the expediency of the tour we were for some time -in doubt whether it would be wise to go at that season of the year. -Foreign residents of this country consider it unsafe to travel during -the rainy season, and even the natives fear long journeys through the -forests. The jungle is the home of a multitude of savage beasts, but -these are not more dreadful than its malaria. - -After engaging our elephants we went to the king for a passport. Had -this been refused us we could not have gone. He, however, very -cordially furnished us with one, and wished us a prosperous journey. -This passport was so worded that we were to travel as his guests, and -yet to go for the purpose of teaching the Christian religion, healing -the sick, etc. It was so worded, I believe, out of deference to our -request, and not from any special interest in our work. We were -furnished with the kind of passport given to certain Siamese officers -who are here occasionally, or to their own princes when required to -visit a neighboring province; and because it is customary to state the -object of their journey in a passport there occurred the anomaly of a -Buddhist king sending men forth to preach the Christian religion under -his protection. I may add here that after we had gone an officer of -the Siamese government here at the time, reproved the king sharply for -having allowed us to go. I think the Siamese are jealous of the visits -of foreigners to their distant provinces. A few years ago Cambodia was -won from its allegiance by the French. By many of the natives we are -believed to be political agents acting in behalf of England or of some -foreign power. - -Our preparations for the journey were soon completed. Perhaps the most -important articles in our outfit were medicines. With our letter we -need not have taken money in our purses, but no script from any -earthly potentate can give such security against malaria as a few -grains of quinine, and no person is safe in this country during the -rainy season without it. Besides medicines and money to pay our way, -we took a small supply of canned provisions――only enough, however, for -use in case of sickness, as our food was to be procured on the way. It -was necessary to take as little baggage as possible. A tent, blankets -and a few extra articles of clothing, books, cooking utensils, guns -and ammunition, about completed our outfit. We had four elephants, two -of which were reserved for baggage. We had also an escort of six -natives, besides those who accompanied the elephants――fourteen in all. - -After commending ourselves and those we left to the care of God, we -set out at noon, April 15th, on our journey. Elephant-traveling is -slow, scarcely averaging two miles per hour. Our course for the first -hundred miles lay toward the north-east. The level country over which -we first passed is occupied by a rural population. Our road, for the -first ten or twelve miles, was through rice-fields. Here and there we -could see small hamlets, whose sites were marked by graceful palm -trees. Narrow strips of forest, extending in irregular curves, joined -the different villages and formed the near boundary of our horizon. -They marked the course of small streams and irrigating canals. After -six hours’ travel we left the plain for the mountain-country, but two -hours before doing so we had entered the forest. Thenceforth, till we -reached Muang-Pau, a small village eight days’ journey distant, we saw -no houses, save in a small hamlet of thirty or forty inhabitants at -“Boiling Springs.” Our route, a main road traveled over betwixt Cheung -Mai, Cheung Rai and Cheung Toong, was merely an elephant-path through -a dense forest. On Sabbath, while encamped near a small stream in this -forest, we met Saan-yawee-Chai, the native Christian whose home is in -Muang-Pau. He was on his way to Lampoon. It was our intention to visit -him at his home, but Providence directed his steps to us. He excused -himself for traveling on Sunday by saying that he was not well -instructed in the duties and observances of the Christian religion, -and that also he was in company with those who would not stop. - -[Illustration: CAMPING IN A LAOS FOREST.] - -After eleven days from home we arrived at Cheung Rai. This is a small -city of three hundred houses, population between two and three -thousand. It is in the province of Cheung Mai, and its chief officers -receive their appointment from the chief or king of this place. It is -situated on the banks of the Ma-Kok, fifty or sixty miles from where -that river joins the Ma-Kawng (or Cambodia) River. The large plain -outside of the walls of the city is but thinly populated. The people -are mostly fishermen. Only a small portion of the surrounding country -is under cultivation, hence there are but few villages in its -vicinity. Here we dismissed our elephants, and by noon on the -following day had completed our preparations for the river-journey. -During our delay there Mr. McGilvary was occupied with the numbers of -people who visited us at our sala, preaching the gospel, distributing -from our supply of Siamese books to those who could read, and -gathering information concerning the country. - -We set out again as soon as our boat and men were ready. Our passage -down the Ma-Kok to the Cambodia River occupied two days, during which -time we passed four or five small villages of twenty or thirty houses -each. These were near to Cheung Rai, within three hours’ journey of -it. We spent our Sabbath on a sandy bank of this river, as we did the -preceding one, many miles away from human habitations. In the morning -we discovered tracks of a large tiger near our boat. These fierce -brutes are quite numerous throughout the country. For mutual -protection against their attacks, and the more dreaded depredations of -robbers, nearly all the people of this country reside in villages or -congregate in larger numbers in cities. The Kamoos, a mountain-tribe -of people, inhabitants of this country at an earlier period than the -Laos, form an exception to this rule. More about them hereafter. - -Near the mouth of the Ma-Kok is a mountain by the Laos called -Doi-Prabat-Rua, or “sacred feet and boat.” It is considered a holy -place, and many pilgrims go thither seeking to make merit. It does not -have, like the mountain of a similar name in Siam, an impression of a -foot in its rock. Its object of veneration is an unfinished stone -boat. The legend of the people is that Gotama Buddha commenced to hew -out of the solid rock a boat which was to be about thirty feet in -length. It was left when about half finished, and remains an object of -superstitious veneration, if not of worship. Few if any Laos will pass -it without fervently raising the folded hands toward it and murmuring -a prayer. - -We stopped a day at Ban Saao, a small village on the Cambodia River, -near the mouth of the Ma-Kok, and from there visited the ruins of the -city of Cheung Sau. This was at one time the largest and most populous -city in this part of the interior; it was the capital city of a very -powerful Burmese province. Seventy years ago the city was taken and -destroyed by the Siamese, its inhabitants put to the sword or forced -into slavery and the entire province rendered desolate, in which -condition it remains to this day. The province thus depopulated, and -now the home only of wild beasts, is not as large as the province of -Cheung Mai, I believe. The territory under the rule of the king of -Cheung Mai is about as large as the States of Massachusetts, -Connecticut and Rhode Island; the waste province of Cheung Sau is -probably about as large as Connecticut. Nothing now remains of the -destroyed city save the walls and the tumbling ruins of temples. -Thousands of idols, images of Buddha, are scattered around in the old -wat- or temple-grounds. Helpless to save the city from its fate, they -were abandoned, and are now trodden under foot of the deer, wild -elephants and tigers, whose tracks now form the by-ways of that city. - -After wandering about the place for several hours, we returned to Ban -Saao, and then continued our journey down the Cambodia. One day’s -travel brought us to Cheung Khawng. This is a Laos city of two or -three thousand inhabitants, and belongs to the province of Muang-Nan. -No inhabitants on the river-banks between Ban Saao and Cheung Khawng. -Many years ago a village was commenced, several houses built and a -clearing made in the forest. About twenty houses were reared, but the -people were obliged to desist, as many of them were killed by the -tigers. We remained at Cheung Khawng two days, called upon the -governor and some of the officers, visited many of the temples, and -everywhere talked with those who were willing to listen. Cheung Khawng -is also a fisher-town. There are very few suburban villages, fewer -even than around Cheung Rai. - -Left Cheung Khawng on the 3d of May. Our passage down the Cambodia to -Muang-Luang-Prabang was rapidly made, and occupied only five days, -including the Sabbath. The distance to the latter place from Cheung -Rai is probably about three hundred miles, or from Cheung Khawng -nearly two hundred. The current of the Cambodia is very swift, in -places so much so that it was dangerous to navigate. The river is -nearly a mile wide in places, and where the channel is narrowed it -rushes along with frightful rapidity. No scenery is finer, not even -that of the Hudson, during the entire distance we traveled on it. -Mountains rise from either bank to the height of three or four -thousand feet. The river fills the bottom of a long winding valley, -and as we glided swiftly down it there seemed to move by us the -panorama of two half-erect, ever-changing landscapes of woodland -verdure and blossom. Only as we neared the city did we see rough and -craggy mountain-peaks and barren towering precipices. The villages -along the river are few and small――from Cheung Khawng to within three -hours’ travel of Muang-Luang-Prabang not more than six, averaging -twenty to thirty houses each. About three hours from the latter city -is the mouth of the Ma-Oo River. This river comes down from the north -and drains the country of the Liews. - -Muang-Luang-Prabang is the capital city of a Laos province which is -perhaps even more extensive than Cheung Mai. The population of the -city has been variously estimated. My companion on the tour agrees -with me in placing the figure at twenty or twenty-five thousand. It is -probably the third largest city in the kingdom of Siam or tributary to -it. Ayuthia is the second, and Cheung Mai probably the fourth. While -the city itself contains a larger population than Cheung Mai, it has -not, like this, a large rural population in its immediate vicinity. It -is situated on the east bank of the Cambodia, on a plain which is not -more than four or five miles wide. A few miles above and below the -city the plain is bounded by high mountains, which reach to the river -and form its banks. A small river, the Ma-Kahn, comes in from the east -and divides the city into two unequal portions. The plain immediately -back of the city is not cultivated nor inhabited. We were told that -there were a number of villages on the banks of the Ma-Kahn. During -the season of high water boats ascend this stream――a month’s journey. -I presume it is then the highway on which the Kamoos bring their -produce to the Muang-Luang-Prabang market. The city is more compact -than any of the Laos cities which we visited. Its market is not so -large as that in Cheung Mai, but we found in it, besides the fruits -and vegetables of the country, many articles, especially cloths, of -foreign manufacture. These are brought from Bangkok. The meats in the -market are fish, pork and fowls. The former are abundant; many of -them, taken from the Cambodia River, would weigh over a hundred pounds -each. - - -DIFFERENT TRIBES. - -The Laos of Muang-Luang-Prabang differ somewhat from those of Cheung -Mai. That province and Wieng-Chun are the provinces of the “Eastern” -(or “White”) Laos――the four cities or provinces of Nan, Praa, Lakawn -and Lampoon, of the “Northern” (or “Black”) Laos. The difference -bearing upon missionary work is that of language. Our Cheung Mai -escort experienced nearly the same difficulty in understanding the -“Eastern” Laos that a Siamese would have. The Eastern Laos dialect is -more nearly allied to the Siamese than is the Northern. It does not -occupy a middle position between the dialect of Cheung Mai and that of -Siam, but probably bears a relation to the Siamese and Cochin Chinese -languages, as the Northern Laos dialect does to the Siamese, Burmese, -Karens, Liew (or Lew) and Chinese tongues. The Eastern Laos understand -the spoken language of Siam better than they do that of the Northern -Laos. The differences between the Siamese, Northern and Eastern Laos, -Liews, Ngieus, Yongs, etc. is illustrated in the dialectic differences -of our own language as spoken in the different parts of England. - -The letters used in writing the language of this province are -universally used throughout the Northern Laos provinces and by the -Liews, Yongs and in many of the Burmese provinces. The written -characters of the Eastern Laos are not much different from these. The -books of either people can be read by the other, though not without a -little difficulty. Siamese books cannot be read in any of the Laos -provinces, except by a few persons. Thus, the Bible printed in the -Cheung Mai Laos letters could easily be read in all the “Northern” -Laos, and in many of the Eastern Burmese, provinces and among -independent tribes of Liews, etc., and with but little difficulty by -the Eastern Laos. - -The Liews are comparatively numerous in Muang-Luang-Prabang. Their -province lies to the north of it, and joins the southern border of -Western China. They are an independent, bold, hardy and cruel people. -They dress better than the Laos, the style of their clothing -resembling that of the Chinese. Their traders visit the Laos, Burmese -and Chinese provinces. Their principal city is Cheung Hoong, situated -(on the Cambodia River) to the north of Muang-Luang-Prabang. They have -a finer and more intelligent appearance than the Laos. Their tribe is -not so numerous as the Laos. - -The Yongs occupy a province south of the Liews. Their principal city -is a small one on the Ma-Yong (River), a tributary of the Cambodia, -which empties into it above the desolated province of Cheung San. They -are also subject, I believe, to the king of Burmah. The above-mentioned -tribes of people in many respects resemble the Northern Laos. Except -the Ngieus, they have the same written language, and the difference in -the spoken language is not great. The Lwoas are another tribe of the -same family. Representatives of all these tribes, as well as Burmese, -Karens, Siamese, Peguans and Chinese, are found in all the Laos -provinces. Those most numerous in Muang-Luang-Prabang are the Liews. - -The religion of all the peoples before-mentioned, except the Karens -and the Kamoos, is Buddhism, more or less mixed with Shamanism. - -The Karens, Red Karens, Kamoos and Kamates are not Buddhists, but -worship or believe in evil spirits, to whose influence they attribute -all that is averse to their sense of good, and whose evil power they -must arrest by ceremonies and sacrifices. Thus the Kamoos in cases of -sickness do not give medicine, but offer sacrifices to appease the -spirits, sometimes killing ten or twelve animals over a single -patient. - -The Kamoos and Kamates are so nearly related that I will speak of them -as one tribe. I have purposely omitted mentioning them in connection -with the other tribes of people found in Muang-Luang-Prabang, because -there does not appear to be any similarity betwixt them, either in -language, religion or customs. The Kamoos are quite as numerous in -Muang-Luang-Prabang as the Laos: I mean in the province, not the city, -for they are a mountain-tribe. They have no province of their own, but -are slaves, who, though they live among the mountains, must pay their -tribute, each man, to his Laos or Siamese master. They are most -numerous in the province of Muang-Luang-Prabang, but are found in all -the Laos and in some of the Burmese provinces, in the Hau country of -China,[4] and among the independent tribes. They are said to be -harmless and honest. They are ignorant and despised, even by the poor, -wretched people of this country. Their clothing is even more scanty -than that of the almost naked Laos. - -Their homes are upon the tops of the mountains, not in the valleys -among the mountains, as are the Karen villages. They cultivate small -portions of ground, which they are not permitted to call their own. -Their diminutive clearings and solitary houses, on or near the top of -steep, high mountains, have a singular appearance, surrounded as they -are with forest and standing in bold relief against the sky. Many of -them, from frequent intercourse with their masters, understand the -spoken Laos language, but they have a distinct language of their own. -They have no written language. Probably not one in ten thousand of -them can read the books of any language. They have a few small -villages, but the majority of the people live in isolated homes. They -have no city of their own. Missionary efforts to reach that tribe -might be made through a native ministry. The superintendence of such a -work, should it be attempted, would require a missionary to reside in -Muang-Luang-Prabang. - -We remained six days in that city. It was a season of constant labor -to my associate. Many visited us――probably from motives of -curiosity――but to all we endeavored to present the gospel message. -Drunkenness is a prevailing vice there. Unlike Cheung Mai, the nights -are hideous with revelry. Opium is said to be used very freely――more -so than in any other Laos city. We did not have that sense of security -there that we have felt in all the other Laos cities, and so were glad -when, on the 14th of May, we were able to leave on our homeward -journey. - -In concluding this notice of Muang-Luang-Prabang, I will remark that -its usual communication with Bangkok is not by way of Cheung Mai. From -Nakawn-Soowun, twelve days above Bangkok, boats ascend the eastern -branch of the Menam to near its head-waters. The distance is probably -greater than to Cheung Mai. From that head of navigation there is a -land-carriage of eight or ten days to the Cambodia River, and then -about two weeks’ boat-travel against the swift current of that river -before reaching Muang-Luang-Prabang. I presume the usual time from -Bangkok to Muang-Luang-Prabang cannot be less than three months. - -We traveled in boats about sixty miles down the Cambodia, seeing -very few villages on the river-bank, except near the city. At Ta -Dua we procured elephants for our land-journey; these were changed -at different stages. For two days our course was through a -partially-cultivated plain, lying parallel with the river and -separated from it by a narrow range of mountains. Passed through six -villages, the largest of which probably contained a population of one -thousand. Six days more of travel brought us to Muang-Nan. Four of -these were consumed in ascending and descending mountains. - -Muang-Nan, the chief city of the province of the same name, is a city -of about ten thousand inhabitants. It is situated on the Nan River, -one of the streams which, by uniting with others, form the eastern -branch of the Menam River, where it forks at Nakawn-Soowun. The city -of Nan is about on the same latitude with Cheung Mai, and the river on -which it is situated is nearly as large as the one which flows past -our mission-premises here. Owing to impassable rapids on the Nan -River, travel between Nan and Bangkok involves a land-journey by -elephants of seven or eight days. - -The province of Nan is one of the most populous and important of the -Laos provinces. The plain for ten or fifteen miles on every side of -the city contains a considerable number of villages. There is evidence -in the city and villages of comparative prosperity. The rulers seem -more liberal, more desirous of the welfare and prosperity of their -people, than in any other Laos province. The contrast in this respect, -between Nan on the one part and Muang-Luang-Prabang and Muang-Praa on -the other was great. We were more encouraged to revisit that city than -any other. We remained there four days. The lateness of the season and -frequency of the rains hastened our departure. - -Going south-westerly, we arrived in Muang-Praa on the 4th of June. -This city is only four or five days’ travel from Muang-Nan, but we -were detained on the way in getting a fresh supply of elephants. - -Four days south of west from Muang-Praa brought us to Muang-Lakawn. -This city is about the same in size as Muang-Nan; population probably -nearly ten thousand. It is situated on the Mawang, a river which -unites near to Rahang with the Maping, which goes by our doors. - -We reached Cheung Mai on the 21st of June, after an absence of -sixty-seven days. The tour would be a difficult one to make at any -season of the year; it was particularly so at the time we made it. The -heavy rains retarded our progress, and rendered it extremely -unpleasant both by day and night. Our health, however, was but little -affected by these unpleasant experiences, as we escaped with less -sickness than did the natives who accompanied us. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -_CHINA TO BRITISH INDIA, VIA CHEUNG MAI._ - - -Cheung Mai is one of the five northern Laos provinces belonging to -Siam. This northern Laos country is bounded on the north (lat. 20° 20′ -N.) by the Shan states, tributary to Independent Burmah; on the -north-east by some independent Shan states lying between Laos and -Tonquin; on the east by Anam; on the south by Siam. The western -boundary is the river Salween, separating the Laos country from -British Burmah and Karenee. The extreme distance from north to south -is two hundred and twenty miles; from east to west, about four hundred -and twenty miles. The entire population of the five Laos provinces -tributary to Siam is estimated at about two millions. These two -millions are composed of about ten tribes; all of them, however, -excepting the remnants of three or four aboriginal tribes inhabiting -the mountains, are branches of a common stock, the Lou. Each of these -five Lou provinces is a kingdom, the ruler of which is always a native -prince, who can, however, exercise authority only after receiving -investiture from the king of Siam. - -Cheung Mai, reckoning all the territory over which the king of Cheung -Mai exercises jurisdiction, is the largest and most populous of the -Laos provinces. A recent census of the houses throughout the province -of Cheung Mai gave the number of ninety-seven thousand, and the census -was not at that time complete; the population of the entire province -is not under six hundred thousand. - -The city of Cheung Mai (written Zimme on English maps) is the capital, -and is reached from Bangkok by boat; the distance is approximately -five hundred and fifty miles, and the time required to make the -journey in native boats, propelled by men, is usually fifty days. - -The isolation of Cheung Mai, the long, tedious and expensive journey -required to reach it, and the unwholesome climate, are considered by -some sufficient arguments against retaining it as a mission-station. -But there are other considerations worthy of attention, which I wish -to present. - -The population of the city of Cheung Mai is estimated at about -twenty-five thousand; the language (with slight and unimportant -dialectical differences) is common to all the Laos people; it is the -commercial centre of all the Laos provinces to the north and -north-east, and also of the Shan provinces to the north. There exists -an extensive trade with Bangkok. Stick-lac, hides, horns, ivory, -cutch, gum benjamin, are among the principal articles of export; these -are exchanged in Bangkok for the products of foreign industry. Trade -with Bangkok is necessarily restricted: the cost of transportation is -too great to admit of a free expansion, the carrying of one ton of -cargo from Bangkok to Cheung Mai costing ordinarily fifty-five -dollars. The fluctuation in prices both in Bangkok and Cheung Mai is -very considerable; the customary rate of interest is two per cent. a -month; the time required for the trader to purchase his cargo in -Cheung Mai and go to Bangkok and return and dispose of his merchandise -is usually six or seven months. In addition to these unavoidable -difficulties, there are other and sometimes greater ones. The -fostering care of government is too freely exercised, arbitrary and -unjust taxes are levied, and other artificial interferences -sufficient, it would seem, to prevent any large investment of capital. -It is hoped, however, that a more intelligent policy will prevail. -Considerable improvement has been made, many restrictions that -formerly existed having been removed, and monopolies are not now so -freely granted to favorites. It speaks well for the enterprise and -sagacity of the Cheung Mai traders that in spite of all these -difficulties they have developed a very considerable exchange market. -The present extensive trade is an indication that Cheung Mai is the -natural centre of what, when properly developed, will amount to an -important commerce. It is not impossible that before many years -steamers will run from Bangkok to Cheung Mai. There seems to be no -real obstacle in the way of light craft propelled by steam -accomplishing the journey in ten or twelve days; the present demand -would justify the necessary outlay as a business speculation, and -steam navigation would unquestionably develop a much larger trade. Sir -Arthur Phayre represents the “Laos traders as industrious, energetic, -possessing a marvelous capacity for traveling as petty merchants, and -longing for free trade.” My own knowledge, after a residence of -several years in Cheung Mai, confirms this official statement. - -The agricultural richness of the plain is known. The forests of -valuable timber clothing the hills and mountains are another source of -wealth. A large proportion of the teak-timber shipped from Maulmain -comes from the Cheung Mai forests. The mineral resources of this Laos -country are varied and extensive; deposits of many of the useful and -precious metals are known to exist; iron, copper, zinc, lead, silver, -antimony, nickel and gold are found in greater or less abundance. Coal -has also been found along the river after heavy rains, and petroleum -has also been discovered. - -The importance of Cheung Mai is not, however, sufficiently indicated -by a statement of the productions and population of the province. Its -resources can never be fully developed if it is in the future to -remain so cut off from the rest of the world as it always has been. -The problem of a direct trade-route, connecting China with the British -possessions in India, is at the present time attracting much interest. -The route across northern Yunnan, _viâ_ Bhamo, into Burmah has been -sufficiently investigated to ascertain that for overland commerce to -any considerable amount it is impracticable. It remains to discover -the best route possible through the Laos country. To one who is aware -of the extent of the trade that exists and has been carried on for -many generations between Cheung Mai and Yunnan, and of the ready -access to Cheung Mai from Maulmain, the discussion of _the possibility -of discovering a trade-route_ connecting South-western China and -British Burmah seems superfluous. The caravan of Yunnan traders coming -yearly to Cheung Mai clearly demonstrate the existence of _a_ -trade-route, and this native track is probably available for a much -more extensive overland transportation of merchandise than at present -exists. The Yunnan caravans bring silk and opium, iron and copper -utensils and other articles, which they exchange principally for -cotton. This caravan-trade has materially increased within the past -few years, though I have been informed that years ago the trade was -much more extensive than it is now. The gradual recuperation of -Yunnan, consequent upon the restoration of order there, probably -explains this recent increase of trade. The fact that a party of ten -or twelve men with a caravan of sixty or seventy mules make this -journey from Tali in Yunnam _viâ_ Cheung Hoong and Cheung Toong, to -Cheung Mai, is a sufficient indication of the safety of the route. A -caravan of sixty mules will ordinarily carry merchandise to the value -of twelve to fifteen thousand dollars, occasionally a larger amount. -Most of the Yunnan traders who come to Cheung Mai come from the -neighborhood of Tali. - -The construction of a railroad from Maulmain, _viâ_ Cheung Mai, to -some point in South-western Yunnan would probably not encounter any -physical obstacles more serious than is usually met with in railroad -building. After entering the plain or plateau of Cheung Mai the -engineering difficulties would be of little consequence until the -mountains of Cheung Hoong were reached; and even there the elevation -is not very great and there are no deep gorges, such as are met with -on the Bhamo and Manwyne route. It is probable there are no -insurmountable barriers on this route, and, judging from the accounts -of Cheung Mai and Yunnan traders, there are no serious difficulties to -be encountered. Until there is a scientific survey any expression of -opinion as to the best track is little more than conjecture. From -Cheung Mai to Cheung Rai there are two routes. One explored by McLeod -and others, although not adversely reported upon, is certainly a -difficult route; I traveled over it in 1880 to Cheung San and found -the highest point passed over to be thirty-five hundred feet above the -Cheung Mai plain, and the ascent is abrupt. - -The second of the two routes mentioned above has never been described; -until 1880 this route had never been traveled by a white man. In -January of that year I traveled over it, and found it, as I thought, -possessed of advantages over the other road. Proceeding from Cheung -Mai in a northerly direction, following the course of the Maping River -to a point fifty-five miles north of Cheung Mai, thence in a direction -east by north-east, at a distance of twenty miles from the Maping -River we entered a large and fertile plain lying to the east and -south-east of Cheung Rai, and separated from that province only by a -low range of hills; traveling through this plain to the Ma-Kok River, -and following the course of that river, the journey to Cheung Rai is a -very easy one. This plain, situated to the east and south-east of -Cheung Rai, although uninhabited at the time I visited it, was in the -beginning of Laos history the most populous of all their provinces; -ruins of the ancient city which was the capital show that at one time -there must have been considerable wealth in the province. The name of -this ancient city and now deserted province is Muang Fäng. A colony -from Cheung Mai has recently settled in the province. This plain is -distant from the Maping River only about twenty miles, and the highest -point of the divide is twenty-six hundred feet above Cheung -Mai――ascent very gradual. The plain is six hundred feet higher than -Cheung Mai. - -A railroad from Cheung Mai (supposing connection between Maulmain and -Cheung Mai already established), following the route indicated above, -would encounter no serious physical difficulties in reaching the -present northern boundary of the Siamese Laos territory. - -The project of a railroad from Maulmain to Cheung Mai is now under -serious contemplation, and an exploring party with this end in view is -reported as having left Burmah. But the terminus, instead of at Cheung -Mai, should be either at Cheung Rai or Cheung San. Such a road would -not be a doubtful experiment. The immense resources of this region, -the industry and enterprise, the peaceful and law-abiding disposition, -of the Laos people, are sufficient to guarantee its success. Any -thorough investigation of the subject will show that the natural and -most obvious trade-route connecting British Burmah and South-western -China is through the Cheung Mai province. - -The only political difficulties in the way of such a route to the -boundaries of Yunnan would be met with in the so-called “Independent -Shan States” north of Laos. Upper Burmah claims, and fitfully and -viciously exercises, a supremacy over these Shan states, but the -general condition of these provinces is one of political anarchy. The -Burmese policy is to incite one province to make war upon another, and -to foment internal disorder by exactions and tyrannies compared to -which the most unjust and arbitrary measures in the government of the -Siamese provinces are mild. Geographically, these Shan states belong -to Siam, and it is to be hoped that the Siamese authority will be -extended over all the territory lying between the Ma-Kawng (or -Cambodia) River and the Salween up to the Yunnan border. While no one -will pretend to claim anything approaching to perfection in the -administration of the Siamese provinces, the protection to life and -property in them is simply infinitely better than the lawless -condition of the provinces claimed by Upper Burmah. Should the Siamese -authority be extended to the north (as the indications of the past few -years would seem to promise), so as to include all the so-called -Independent Shan states situated between the Cambodia and Salween -Rivers, a degree of law and order would prevail, and, protected from -the attacks and robberies of each other, these tribes would soon begin -to accumulate wealth, for their country is possessed of great -resources. - -“Protection” and “annexation” constitute a serious bugbear to any -scheme of railroad building or canal construction in Siam. If the -Siamese and Laos could be convinced that there was no design upon -their possessions, they would not be averse to the opening up of their -country by railroads. It is difficult to believe that the intellectual -and political torpor which has so long characterized Siam is to -continue. The conflict between the old and the new is inevitable; the -numerical majority is, of course, under the influence of ancestral -traditions and inherited beliefs, opposed to all change; but the -constant contact with Western ideas must modify this spirit of -reverence for what is old simply because it _is_ old. Even “far-off -Cheung Mai” is, I confidently believe, soon to awaken out of her long -sleep, and, no longer dreaming of the past, to advance into the better -future. - - -THE END. - - - [1] The ceremonies at the cremation of the body of - the late first king lasted from the 12th of March, 1870, - till the 21st of the same month. The king of Cheung Mai came - from his distant home among the Laos Mountains to be present - on the occasion; and the pomp and expense of the ceremony, - for which preparations had been more than a year in - progress, surpassed anything that had been known in the - history of Siam. - - [2] This was in 1851. Instruction was _first given - in zenanas in India in 1858_ [or 1857]. - - [3] Carl Bock. - - [4] This is Yunnan - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -This book was written in a period when many words had not become -standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple spelling -variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been -left unchanged. Dialect, obsolete words and misspellings were left -unchanged. - -Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like -this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and moved to the end of -the book. Missing quotation marks and missing final stops at the -end of sentences were added. 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