The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-08-03
GENERAL view OF BANGKOK.

quarantine guards against contagious diseases,
and the refuse from the kitchens is dumped in
front of palaces and splendid temples.
Passing continually may be seen Buddhist
priests. in yellow dress, with heads and eye
brows shaved, shielding their faces with fans
for fear the sight of women will induce unhOly
thoughts. Buddhism is the religion of the
country. The sacred books are written in Pail
in the Cambodian characters, having been
originally brought from Ceylon.
The temples numerous. They are very
striking objects when seen from afar, and some
of them are very beautiful, but as a rule dis
lance lends eBchantment, for there is great
deal OF tinsei and gaudy cheap ornamentation
about them. and they are not neatly kept. The
lower part Of the edifce contains the images of
Buddha, and all around the pagoda are build
ings devoted to the service Of the priesthood.
The most famous temple in Siam is the Wat
Cheng, opposite the royal palace. 1t lifts it's
sacred spire 200 feet from the ground, and
every inch of its irregular surface is covered
with glazed and colored characterization, while
little bells hang from every possible projection
and every zephyr sets thea tinkling.
Another famous temple contains the man.
meth sleeping Buddha. The reclining statue
is 81 feet long.
The most interesting temple in Bangkok is
the temple Of the emerald god within the royal
inciosure devoted to the use of the Kings
family 1t is most ornate, is filled with the rarest
specimens of Oriental and European art, and
browning all is the little emerald Buddka only
g foot high, solid mass Of diamonds sapphires,
and other gems. Several far loftier temples in
Bangkok cost 100000 apiece, but the private
temple Of the King. SURPRISING them all in
magnifcence, cost 81 100000
To these temples come swarms Of people to
pray and listen to the monotonous chanting of
lazy priests. These gentry are not permitted
10 work, and many young fellows enter the
nFia a
existence.
Marriage in Siam is negotiated by elderly
women, who find out If the birthdays of the in
tended bride and bridegroom agree, the Siamese
| being very suPerstitious in this respect, and
! arrange the amount OF property or money that
| is TO be given by the parents on each side TO set
| up the young people in life. The marriage
| ceremonies last two or three days, priests
| sometimes engaged 20 say prayers, the couple
| are sprinked with consecrated water, and on
| favorable astrological day the marriage bed is
prepared by an old couple friends of the family.
( who in their time have been blessed with &
| large and prosperous family.
FeminiDity is under peculiar subsection in
| Siam, social intercourse between the women
| and the men being practically unknown. A
! Sismcse entertains you at his home but you do
not see his wife or wives. At social suppers,
| entertainments, etc, the pettcoat is absent and
! to such an extent do the resident Europeans
recognize this condition, that when foreigner
| epteTtains Siamese "the ladies" may be the
| toast, but not the actuality.
The white elephants are an interesting fea-
| ture in Siam. The King keeps four of the
| beasts in the palace grounds. AS white ele-
| plants they are disappointmcnts. for they are
| Of dingy yellow, with some white spots and
| called white, it would seem, simply because
| they arc lighter in hue than the rest Of their
kind. They are albinos and are, of course,
rare. They are valued above price, and q
| goodly number of them in the royal stables is q
! presSge of long aud glorious reign. Each
beast has retinue of attendants and a stable
to himself. The King himself never comes
into their presence without making an obeis-
ance, for they arc honored and respected by the
Siamese, and as they believe in the transn gra-
ton of souls it is perfectly plausible to them
that the spirits OF deceased Kings make their
abode in the bodies of these pampered animals
But the white elephant is not ped in
Siam. all statements to the contrary notwith-
standing.
King Chulaloukom J.. ninth of the so chill
dren of Mongkut is of course the center of in
tcrest. He is only about 40 years old, and sue
ceeded to his fathers throne in 1863. The COM
mon report in Bangkok is that His Majesty has
had 300 wives and 81 children, some 80 of the
latter now being alive, and he was a father at
u years of age. A Siamese has one legitimate
wife, to whom all the others. properly coDcu
bines subject. The Kings second wives
attain through their relations to him certain
rank or nobility. Each is provided with sepa-