The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-02-05
A STATE DINNER IN SIAM.


In large room, with plain whtewashed walls
but handsomely furnished, sit the counsel and his
wife, duly attired to do honor to their expected
guests. Some of the junior officers of the consulate
lolter on the yerandah watching the boats on the
river, the great highway of Bangkok. Presently
rich barge, distinguished by row of official um-
brellas at the stern gdes to the pier, and from it
steps the Pranklang, whom Europeans call Minister
for Foreign affairs. Quickly following in another
| and still richer barge, comes his ROYAL Highness,
the Prince Wongsa, chief of the princes, halfbroth
er OF the kings, and equally punctua, the Kala-
home, or prime minister, rides into the court upon
beautiful pony, followed, as also the others, BY a
numerous train of slaves. The
illustrious company sit down to dinner, and an ex-
cellent dinner it is for thanks to the skill of our
preservers and the activity of purveyors, no
one who has the means to afford them need now be
without all the luxuries of an English and French
bill of fare. Turtle soup and salmon, hare and
currant jelly, peas and beans, damson tart and Still
ton cheese, with many other less familiar but CHER
sounding viands, relieve the invariabe staple of a
Bangkok dinner-fowls and ducks; even these to-
day make their appearance in a new guise, pumped
with English stutling, savoury with French mush-
rooms.
Madras supplies the most appetising Of
curry stufs, and Bombay sends the ducks "a
kind of dried fish to eat with it; California
! contributes the potatoes, and Australia the
flour; France Spain, Germany, and Portugal
each send of their best wine the West Indies fur
nish the curacoa there dates from Egypt and
almonds from Persia; coffee from Ceylon and tea
| from China; scarcely country in the world but
helps to that dinner, except, thanks be to heaven,
| the Cape of Good Hope had bad LIQUOR The guests
taste curiousy all that is set before them but to
their hosts notification they only taste for like
all good Siamese, they dned at midday, three
hours no since, and now, as they quietly confess,
! full. The soup is just spped the salmon
! pulled to pieces with fork the hare gives occa-
sion for a rude remark on the exquisite dinners NJ.
de Montlgny, negociator OF the French treaty, who
brought a train of cooks in his suite, had given
them to which dinners, it is to be presumed,
they went without first spelling their appetites; and
on prawns being put on the table with the
cheese they expressed themselves astonished at the
| vulgarlty-prawns, indeed, of which any slave
| catch many he likes by dropping line and
bent pin into the river! Some readers may smile
at the idea of angling for prawns, but they are
much larger than their congeners these cold
latitudes, varying from five to inches in length,
| and giving quite good sport as our gudgeon.-
They drink little of the sherry the wine will not
tempt, and the claret is rejected, but they do not
conceal their high appreciation of the curacoa.-
| The Prince wishes to take wine with the gentle
man next him. whose attention is called to the fact
! by vigorous poke in the ribs he turns around,
his noble friend is grinning expressivey and tap
ping his wine glass; two glasses quickly filed,
! two heads are gravely inclined, two glasses are
emptied, and the interesting rite is over. min
ute more, and the Prakang follows the example of
his royal highness; another poke another draught,
and he may sit at ease: he has but two neghbors
and his ribs may rest for that evening. The Prince
and Praklang continue drinking with all round the
table, attracting attention where their arms will
not reach by series of horrid grunts and quick
repettions of his name whom they wish to honor.
Dinner is over the cloth is off, and the table
glows with purple mangosteens and k-blushing
mangoes, golden pines, and heaps of scarlet rambu-
tan. The sweetest preserves swimming in
bowls of rich cut glass. Lovely flowers of exquisite
odour spring from silver vases; the choicest painted
china and the most sparkling of glasses surround
the luxurious pile; leaving clear only a narrow
path, round which the decanters may circle The
princes son and the prime minister's nephew, who
have been sittiDO the Varandah durjnp dinner
are now invited in; the former, boy of about ele-
ven is permitted to take chair his father, but
pushed near back, the latter takes a more humble
seat on the floor. The cigar bearers crawl in, and
all the Siamese, youngsters included, begin to
smoke for time there is silence, but the cigars are
soon finished, and then they attend to the toasts
Their majesties the Kings of Siam have their
health proposed in a curt speech by our ex-
celent consul; but his brevity is nothing to the
princes, who, rising up and calling attention by a
grunt, utters in broken syllabes, fHer- Ma-ye-tib
Queen Wik-to-erierv and then gives a second grupt
of satisfaction as all Loyalty respond to it. & few
other toasts follow, but dessert has little charm for
them, they are not in talkative mood, and before
Mrs. Consul has finished her glass of mort (some
reader conversant with Eastern life will saw it was
sherry, and that people do not drink port in those
warm countries; but say port) have all jumped
up and are walking. about the room, again smoking.
NO entreatles can prevail them to return to the
table, and IN few minutes the ministers, apologis
ing for so early departure, necesstated by their
important duties take their leave. The praklang,
leaning anably on the arms OF Two young oncers,
returns to his barge, and the kalahOme is bor2e off
in palankeen surrounded by bevy of runners
each bearing a laring toreh.-Times' Correspon-
dents Letter.
We understand the last steamer frem England,
brought advices that the conditional agreement
made in the early part of December last between
the Great Western Railway and the Buffalo and
Lake Huron Railway, by which the latter road was
to pass into the hands of the former under lease
of ninety-nine years, has been overrued by the
London Board of the Great Western Company
The for this action has not transpired,
| though we believe the fact in itself is beyond
doubt. 1t is believed here that the proposed ar
rangement was a very eligible one to both Compa-
nes and the cause of the failure will be looked for
with interest.-Bufalo Courier.