Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-26

and out of them in their yellow robes.
In one temple was a gilded recumbent
figure of Buddha, one hundred feet long.
This was called the temple of the sleeping
Buddha, and there was but little space left
between the image and the roof and sides
of the building. In another place was a
courtyard, surrounded by fully one hundred
gilded copper Buddhas of varying size, all
in the well-known sitting posture, and
radiating calm and gentleness from their
benign countenanceS. These temples are
called watts, and some of them tower high
above the city and add greatly to its beau
ty.
Bangkok has been called the Venice of
the east but hardly deserves SO great a
compliment, even if many of its streets do
lie under water, for in that fact the only
resemblance rests. Wherever We walked
or were rowed, the people were amiabie
and polite. The women We're not pretty.
except for their smooth light brown arms
and shoulders. There are about 1oo,ooo
people in Bangkok, though one would hard
ly believe it, as many of the inhabitants
stay out of sight through much OF the day,
lurking in the shade to avoid the heat
Like all the eastern people, the Sianese
are fond of ceremonies When we were in
Bangkok a procession of boats took place
in honor of visit of the king to one of the
temples We were told that whenever the
foundations of the Menam river, caused by
the rainy season, are expected to subside
there is great display of boats, ana the
Buddhist priests proclaim to the floods
that they must withdraw. There were
Bangkok. and their success in converting
the natives is said to be slow. but sure.
A Horrible Custom.
The Siamese are ruled by custom and do
things that we would hardly consider in
telligent For instance, they think a mans
head should never be raised above that of
his superior in rank. They make a great
to do over cutting boys hair when he is
thirteen years old, and his family has
small whenever
the king has his hair cut it is an event of
public Importance and celebration. The
missionaries told me the king had two
hundred women in his harem, but that
otherwise he was man of exemplary life.
1 went to the outskirts of that part of
Bangkok which is on dry land and saw the
spot where the dead poor were exposed
and a flock of vultures lowering over 1t or
Cutting themselves on the CHASTITY prey.
I did not go too near to them, the sight
being too awful. 1 was told that the rich
Siamese are burned in the watts, and that
their ashes are usad to mix with plaster
for making the walls Of the watts; thus
literally do they stop hole to keep the
wind away"
looking half-breed American negroes. They
have an aristocracy, laws, a little art and
a slight literature. They do not play an
important part among the nations of the
east, and are regarded as an appetiZing bit
of prey by some of the mere civilized and
more rapacioUs countries of the earth
such, for instance, as France and England
both of which have often turned greedy
eyes upon this rich land. The climate with
its disastrous effects on white men, has
done more than anything else to keep
Siam independent. If it were not for the
laziness of her six million natives the re-
sources Of the country would be adequately
exploited by themselves instead of by for
eigners. Although the king and his rela-
tlons are men of European education, the
people at large are little more developed
than some of the advanced tribes of the
South Sea Islands.
The trade of Siam IL chiefly IN silk, sugar,
rice. hides. tusks and teak wood, and most
of it is attended to by Chinese merchants
who have settled in the country and who
are more energetic than the natives We
never grew tired Of looking at the graceful
architecture and visited all of the kings
temples of which there must have been
twenty in the palace grounds, and each of
which seemed more richly ornamented
both outside and in, with inlaid stones CT
bright coiors than the last. Inside, on the
stone floor, were small mats Of silver cloth,
on which the saffron-robed priests sat be-
fore the image of Ruddha.
One of the striking features Of that part
of the city which was on dry land was the
number Of trees, with tropical density of
green foliage that was dazzling in the sun
shine. Around many of the houses there
We're rich gardens that We're almost chok-
ing with shrubs and flowers. 1t seemed to
me that the Siamese chose groves as ap-
proprlate spots for their temples and
schools. We visited one of the ,atter-a
long, low shed-in the heart of a grove,
where there were about fifty half-clad boys,
all of when were reciting the same lesson
at the same time in sing-song unison.
Our stay in Bangkok was not long enough
to enable TO visit the interior of the
country and learn more of its peculiarites,
but, nevertheless, when we sailed away we
carried with the most interesting men,
cries of the picturesque part of Siam that
we had seen, with its city of navigable
streets, its glistening temples. it's tropical
vegetation, its open houses, its junges,
steamng in the sun; its flooded fields and
distant forests, and, last of ALL its Nstless,
amiable half-clad people.