The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-24
KING OF SIAM AND HIS REALM.
he is an Interesting Young Autoorat,
and Rules a Queer People.
From the san Francisco Chronicle.

has more absolute power over his subjects
than the Car. Few men in this world
have as much to make them feel big ana
important, but for one in his position he
is very much civilized and fin-de-siecle
young person. He is small in person.
His head is crowned with a golden pyra-
mid of jewels, rising in circular tiers, di-
minishing as they go upward, until they
end in long, peneil-like point, which eX-
tends nearly two feet above the forehead
of its kiDgly owner. His body is clad in
gorgeous coat and vest, heavily embroid-
cred in gold and jewels, and in place of
pantaloons he has the rich brOcaded sur
ong of the Siamese about his loins and
waist. 1t comes down below his knees Mt
the front, and it looks not unlike a pair
of fancy knickerbockers. Below these
are pair of shapely calves in white silk
stockings, and his feet are thrust into
jewel-covered, heelleSs slippers, pointed
like the shoe of the Turk The whole
makes a costume brilliant and grand. He
is a pleasant-lool1ing fellow, and his olive
brown face Is plump and unWrinkled. He
has beautiful liquid black eyes, a broad,
high, and rather full forehead, and short,
straight, black hair. Under his rather
short and habitat nose there is q silky
black muStache, and below this the lips
are rather thick, and the chin plump and
well rounded. His hands and feet are
well made, and he is, all told, a good
specimen of Siamese beauty. He is the
ninth son of Maha Mongkut the last king
OF Siam, and he was picked out of family
Of eighty-four children to be placed upon
the throne He has thirty-four half
brothers and forty-nine half sisters.
Looking at him it'tis hard to imagine
that he is the sacred ruler of from 5000,
900 to 10000, 600 of people, and it is hard
for an American to appreciate his abso-
Lutte power and his holy dignity. The
people of the country are his slaves. He
has the right to call them into his service
either with or without pay, and all men in
Siam are forced to give him either the
whole or part of their services during
the year. His word can throw a man
into chains or put him to death; can de-
prive him of his property or rob him of
his daughter. All the women of Siam are
supposed to belong to the king, and no
one is forbidden to him except his
mother. He is supposed to take one OF
his sisters as his queen, and the mobiles Of
the country offer hun their daughters by
the score. His court is one of intrigue,
and the mobiles are glad to have their
daughters in the harem so that they may
thus the better attain the kings friend
ship and powerful offices. He taxes the
people as he pleases, and these taxes are
so heavy that at times some men have to
sell their wives and children as slaves to
enable them to pay him. Still, his vaults
are full of treasure. Siam has no nation
al debt, and he has an income of more
than $4,000, 900 a year. He can spend
tens of thousands of dollars in cremating
a dead wife or in establishing a petty
navy.
Still this King of Siam is the most pro-
gressive the country has ever had. He is
in advance of his people, and he is do
ing a great deal to ciyilize them. Be
fore his second coronation in 1878 all ma
tives who approached the king had to do
so on all fours. They had to raise their
heads in alteration to him and bump their
heads on the mats before him. The king
did away with all that, and he has intro
duced the American handshake into his
receptions of foreigners. He gives recep-
tions to foreigners, and he speak the
English tongue, though he never does
this when noted foreigners have an audi
ence with him He has brought the
telegraph and the telephone into Bang
kok, has established a street-Car line, and
lights his harem with electric lights.
The King of Siam is a Buddhist, and
he was for some time Buddhist priest,
as is the custom with all men in Siam.
Every one is expected at some time to
enter the priesthood, and this royal mon
arch, with his millions of treasure, his
scores Of wives, and his $4,000, 600 year,
once shaved his head and nomiDally gave
up his crown and his harem to wear a
yellow cotton scarf about his waist and
to go fasting and praying The Siamese
priests are picturesque, as well as devout.
The priesthood is useful to married men.
A man can be divorced whenever he likes
by entering the priesthood for month or
so. Mobiles do not require any such for
mality.
The great event in the life of a Siamese
is the function of having his hair cut.
This is sometimes a great event in the
life OF an American young man also. On
the top of a Siamese baby's head a GER
tain lock of hair is preserved. All the
rest of the head is shaved, but this lock
is kept sacred until he reaches the age
when he officially passes from boyhood to
manhood. Then off comes the lock. The
celebrations attending the hair cutting of
the present king lasted three DAYS
The King of Siam has very0iarge as
sortment of wives, but he is 50 high and
mighty that he must marry nobody be-
meath him in rank, his only equals being
his own family. His regular official
queen must, therefore, always be his half
sister. The queen is not far from 20
years OF age; she rules the harem, and
she is a very pretty Siamese girl. Her
complexion is light brown, and her oily
black hair, about two inches long, stands
straight up and is combed backward from
fair, open forehead. She has beautiful
eyes, wears diamond earrings and has
diamond pendant at her neck, and her fin
gers are covered with precious stones
She smokes cigarettes, as does also the
king, and she chews the betel nut, maxi
ing her teeth as black as jet and her lips
stick out. The Sianese say that any dog
can have white teeth, but that it is only
those who are rich enough to afford the
betel nut can have the black ones.
The debtor class of Siam afford a great
contrast to all this gorgeousness. They
are stripped naked, and, chained to heavy
logs, are compelled to work as slaves.
The interest on money is so high in Siam
that when man once gets in debt the
most he can possibly hope for by the hard
est kind of work is to pay the interest on
what he owes. This has discouraged in
dustry, and has encouraged the practice
of allowing women to do the work Man,
being proud and ambitious. soon tires of
industry INDUCED in for its own sweet
sake.
The temples and palaces of Siam are
structures of complicated magnifcence.
Witnesses in the courts are tortured in
very ingenious ways. Certain classes are
prohibited from testifying. They include
drunkards, gamblers, virgins, execution
ers, beggars, and persons who cannot read.
When they whip a man they stretch his