Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-06-28
ROYAL PALACE OF SIAM.
DESCRIPTION OF THE arAMEsE
KINGS HOME IN BANGKOK.
vi European Architecture, but
Adorned With Oriental Iagnifi-
cencc-ill-IkcmptW Whito IGlephants

vi European Architecture. ,but
Adorned With Oriental nIagnifi-
cencc-iil-IScmpt Whito Elephants
The palace of tho King ut Bangkok.
Siam, WINS built only few wears noo'
writes Frank G. Carpenter. 1t looks
much like one of the great palaces of
Europe. 1t has several stories. and upder
the bright rays of this Sinmcso sun IL
seems to be made of marblo. A closer
'nSpeG'ion shows that the marble is stucco,
anu 'no golden elephants, each about
nan hic-sizc, which guard the entrance
chahgc us you come near them from mas
sNc gold to iron gildcd. Wide stairways
lead by marble steps through these into II
great vcslibulc, the ceiling of which is
ABOUT lorty feet high and the walls of
which arc hung with old Sinmesc nrmor.
at the right OF this is the Kings audience
nall. His throne is bed and he lies ON
his arm or sits Siamcsc fashion, II Ia Turk,
while he receives hisroyal Council and dis.
cusscs mntters of the kingdom. The
ministers and mobiles sit on lcathcr-cush
toned benches, and the portraits of Siamcse
heroes, in oil, by European artists, lool,
down upon them from the walls. .Iust
Dack oil tho King there is IL portrait of n
shaVcd- headed, crooked -mouhcd pale
iaced, hnlf-nakcd Buddhist priest. It is
the high priest of the kingdom, and thus
the proceedings go on under the very
shadow of lBuddha himself. The priests,
by the way, claim that tho royal family
nrc lincal descendants of Buddhn.
On tile other side of the ycstibulc il II
grand rcccptionroom fully as wide and :
nc L..
"htc House ut Washington This ia
paved with marble mosaic, aud its high
ceiling, twice us high ms that of the Enst
hoom, is gorgcously decorated with
carvings of gold. Brilliant chandeliers
hnnS down from il, and about the walls
are oil paintings of the royal family, and
tie only womnns fncc among them is TINT
oi the present Queen, whose sweet face
looks down beside those of the Kinps
brothers, and hns the best light and the
place OF honor OF The whole room. The
furniture Of this room is European, and
the treasures, OF Europe have been ran.
slckcu To I'LL 1t. There nrc rare vases from
Dresden, iiligrco work from Ncnicc and
richly carved gold from Sinm. Through
inns room and on into II third grand re-
ccption'room we went with the Siamcsc
noble. This room il full Of beautiful
things. Two of the largest ELEPHANTS
tushs, wonderfully carved, stnnd beside
the manicl, and m album ON IL little stand
nj the buck Of The room hns II medallion
portrait oi The King painted on porcelain
and set III The richest of diamonds. Tho
corners of the room contain large cabinets
filled with curious works in gold from
card-cas up 10 bctcl-boxcs, and no.
ticcd n fine portrait Of Frederick, the Into
Emperor of Germany, among the many oil
paintings on the wall
The audience chamber, or rather the
throne room Of the King, iy grand hall
with II ceiling made of many colored
pieces of glass and producing the samc
effect as. the glass wall which TilTnny
buiii between the vcstbulc and the long
corridor Of our White House. The light
shining through this makes il look rs
though it was made Of Jewels and the
room is lighted from the top. This cell
ing is, judge, fifty feet from the floor.
II is vaultcd and the walls below are fres.
coed in gold. Three immense glass chan,
iclicrs like ;hosn of the East Room of tho
White House, hang down from this cell.
ing, and these were made for the palace
of the Emperor of Austra, but were
bought by the King of Siam. The floor
Is ol marble mosnic and the King sits on
great chair or rostrum ut the back. Five
steps led to il, and beside him are the
kingly umbrellas and over him Il nine.
story pngoda-hkc crown of white and
gold. Around the room there are gold
trees and gold bushes, and the leaves OF
these nrc of pure gold, while their trunks
are heavily plated. There were, perhaps,
dozen or these on cnch side Of the room,
and they ranged from the size of Christ.
mas tree down TO that of small currant
bush. These are the offerings of the
rulers Of the various provinces under th,
King. They make these presents of gold
trees every year, and some of them nre
worth fortunes. Not n few were of sill,
yer, and the silver trees were placed on
one side OF the room,. while those Of gold
were placed on the other.
Siam is known as the lnnd of the whit,
elephant. The elephant is the imperial
animal of the country, and you see his
picture upon all of the flags. The old
coins OF the realm have an elephant upon
one side of them, and the white elephant
is here sacred. He is supposed to be the
embodied spirit of some king or hero
and the people formerly worshippcd him,
and they do so to some extent now Be.
fore going to see the palace had read
a glowing description of the white Gle.
phant Of Siam. Icxpcctcd to see his tusls
bound with gold, to find golden chains
about his neck and superb velvet coal
of purple, fringed with scarlet and gold,
over his snow white body What l did
find was four wild-eyed, scraggy- looking
elephants with long tusks and with skim
not much whittier than those you see it
the American circus. Tho only whits
part about them was their long ilappina
ears, which seemed to be afflicted with
the leprosy. The remainder Of theiI
skins had the whitcncss only OF disease,
and was told, rs rilc the white elc.
plants OF Siam are mad elephants