The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-11-22
Che allat !'l.,,j SSeost.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER D, 1865.
MINDS CONTRASTED.
THE KING on s1AM-THE GOVERNOR OF TENN.

IneSe TWO persons, Tile Mig vi oiaih-
Phra Bard Somdetch Phra Paramendr
Maha Mongkut Phra Chom Klaw Chau
tn Hua-and the Governor of Tennes.
see--Rev. William G. Brownlow-are
not brought together because of things
common in both; but simply with view
of letting the student see the kind OF
men that govern states nowadays, Sir
John Browning writes to the London
F0rtnightly RerieoO in regard to the first
mentioned parsonage, as follows:
"During the reign OF the usurping |
sovereign of Siam, the legitimate heir
(let him be honored with all his titles),
Phra Bard Somdetch Phra Paramendr
Maha Mongkut Phra Chom Klau Chau
Tu Hua, provided for the safety of his
person, Seriously menaced, by with
drawing from the sphere of public
observation, giving to himself the sacred
character of Buddhist priest, and
taking possession of apartments in one
of the Wat or temples, which form the
most prominent objects in all the towns
of Siam, and especially in the city of
Bangkok. He there devoted himself to |
profound study. He not only explored
such literature as the ancient Siamese
records presented to him, but mastered
the Sanscrit and the Pail languages OF
Latin he had acquired such mastery, |
mainly by the aid of the Catholic bishop,
that he was engaged while was in Siam
in writing his autobiography in that |
language, and paid great attention to the
English tongue, in which he was assisted |
by his intercourse with the American |
missionaries, who had maintained their
ground in Bangkok and its neighbour
hood, notwithstanding the precautions
and annoyances of the court.
"But his principal source Of instruc-
! ton was found in dictionaries, and his
conversation was therefore much COM
| bined with words little used in ordinary
| collouuies. Fer example, he would use
| zenith and nadir in preference to north
and south; his collocation of words is
not always grammatical, but he had al
WAYS an expression at hand, though not
| i'm common use, by which he very dis
tinctly conveyed his meaning. He re-
minded one of man talking through
the medium of a dead language, trans
lating his thoughts from a language
more familiar, but not thinking in the
language which he spoke. On one oc-
casion when 1 read an English address
to him at the time of my formal and Of
fetal reception, he sent for me to the in
terror of the palace, said he had under,
stood perfectly every word but one, and
of that word he asked an explanations.
"And this reminds me of one of those
touches of nature which make the
whole world kim On my first public
/. audience we passed through the centre
of a large hall in which all the principal
mobiles of the land, clad in garments of
gold, lay on all tours PROSTATE with their
faces nearly touching the ground, when
a curtain was drawn, and from raised
tribune at the end of the hall appeared
the king seated on his throne, clad i'm
gorgeous apparel, sceptre in his hand, a
richly jewelIed crown on his head, sur.
rounded by all the wealth of Ormus and
of Ind The ceremony over, he desired
TO see me in the interior of the palace,
in one of his private apartments. he
sat there Invested of every ment,
with no other garment than shirt he
held on his knees O little girl absolutely
naked, and with no adorning but q
chaplet of fragrant white flowers round
her head. He asked me to admire her
beauty-she was his youngest born--and
here may add that received a letter
not very long after informing me that
since my departure from Siam five
children had been added to the royal
; race. Plenty of royalty was one OF
his Majesty's expressions.
"In fact, he rejoiced in the possession
of three hundred wives and concubines,
which he said was very moderate
number his father had seven hundred
for his portion. He laughed loudly on
, one occasion when I told him that in
England one wife was found all suf1i-
Gent. He had drama got up for oul
: amusement, in which no less than
h hundred ladies of the court were en-
ragged as actresses, under the discipline
of an ugly old promptress, who's
y seedlings were sometimes louder thai
| the music of the piece. The womel
i were of every hue, from the snowy q
the sable, and of every Oriental race.
We suppose the King, with the Ions
name, is regarded as sort of heather
Now contrast him with the reveren
brawler of Tennessee, who shall spea
,r for himself:
sr,7r or TENNESSEE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Is NASHVILLE, Nov. 10, 1865. !
lie To the Editors of the Cincinnati Gazette
In your paper of Saturday 1 find thi
IL notice:
Governor Brownlow was robbed o
IN $500 and his watch, by some highway
man near N ashville, while he wa5'ridinl
out with Hon. Horace Maynard, on Fri
day evening"
This is a mistate. 1t was my son, til
Adiutant General of the state, who w'
4 riding in buggy with son of Horat
MAYNARD. am too prudent a man
-. ride out on any road leading from
:" coming into Nashville, other than
railroad. This whole country abount
in thieves and robbers, any of whol
would murder man for his watch
for n S. bill. Despite of all the vigilan'
axercised by the civil and military a
thorities, murders and robberies are
daily occurrence-both in Nashville al
ges the surrounding counties of MIDI
Tennessee. AS loud and as numero
nc are the complaints against East TIE
nessee. by the papers of Nashville, al
certain class of politicians, there q
five of these outrages perpetrated,
Middle Tennessee to every one I'll
occurs in the eastern division
The state. To be candid, there
almost as much disloyalty in MI
Ale Tennessee now as there. "
mo in 1851. And this is so OF
whole South, minus the number OF q
q ,oval men who are under ground. 4!
nessee is i'm much better conditi
is than any one of the seeded states, a