The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-11-30
The Cremation Of Il Princess.

IN accordance with the Siamese Gus
tom, in the case of persons of exalted
rank, the body of the late Princess,
after being prepared in manner
somewhat similar to the process of
embalming, lay in state for upward of
two months in coffin placed in a
Buddhist temple. The ceremony of
the cremation took place at about
three o'clock in the afternoon, shortly
before which hour His Highness the
Regent, attended by his sons and the
officers of State appointed to represent
their Majesties, the first and second
Kings, arrived at the pavilion that
had been constructed for the occasion.
This was large bamboo building
holding about 900 persons, and open
at one side like a race-cOurse stand.
In front stood the altar, also con-
structed of green bamboo, surmounted
by canopy of the same material,
about forty feet in height, tastefully
decorated with flowers. Flowers
were also profusely strewn on the
fagots and round about.
At the foot of the altar were seated
about twenty men, producing on ma
tive instruments the most weird and
unearthly "music," and close to
was Chinese open-air fantOccini ex-
hibiting, which was keeping vast
crowd of both Chinese and Siamese in
a state of uproarious laughter. The
ceremony lasted until sunset.
After the Gel emony the Regent con-
Quoted his guests to the Pavilion, and
there, with his sons and other men,
bers of his family, took up position
on the steps of the altar. The musi-
clans, with their tom-toms, horns and
reed instruments, redoubled their
efforts, and amid the wild blast of bar
barous music the coffin was borne in
and placed upon the funeral pyre
which was composed of fagOts, all
neatly shaped to uniform size, and
each one tipped with gold leaf, the
whole being saturated with turpentine
and inhammable oil. The Regent
(who, like all the Siamese present, was
dressed entirely in white, the national
mourning color, was then presented
by kneeling slave with lighted
torch, with which he first fired the
pile. Each of his sons, in the order of
their seniority, then did the same, fol-
lowed by all the other relatives, these
in turn being succeeded by the old gen.
tleman's concubil es, numbering some
five and twenty. The guests were
then invited to assist, and, after they
had done so, the general public were
admitted without reserve; and in a
short time the altar, with its canopy
and floral decorations, was completely
enveloped in flames.
The roses and other flowers with
cred in the scorching heat, the bam-
boo pillars cracked and sputtered.
the attendants stimulated the fierce
fire, threw upon it spices and essences
which filled the air with strange
odors; the music became faster and
more wildly furious, and soon the
costly coffin with its contents became
merely heap of ashes. Presently the
columns supporting the canopy were
burnt through, and the whole struct-
ure fell with crash on the fire,
which soon found its way again and
blazed with fresh fury, sending dense
cloud of smoke far above the tops of
the sage palms and cocoanut trees.
Soon after this we all took leave of
the Regent and his family, each of us
receiving as a souvenir pure gold
ring, made in the palace
by the royal goldsmiths. Alta Cali
f01mi0n.