The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-23
SLAMS KING IN ENGLAND.
0HCJlLoNGEoRN AND HIS DoINGs
THE TOPIC OF THE noun.

the white Eicphnnt-nis Activity In sight
seeinE and ITS CnrioaIty-Som or Iiis Conn
ments-Contrnsts with Hts Life Mt Home.
LONDON. Aug. l4.-As all tho world knows, tho
King Of Slam In on q visit to England. What.
ever divinity may hedge this King at home, no
has been regarded by tho European public more
or less rs q monarch pour rirc. When ut homo
the King OF Siam can provide boundary qucs'
lions for dlsputatlon by Continental Foreign OF.
fees, create Cabinet crises, cause =" friction y be-
tween Franco and England, figure in the for
oign kilograms OF the morning papers. and other.
wise command the respect duo to an absolute
dospot
But all this went for nothing as soon as his
Majesty set foot on English soil. The public
looked upon him as n continuation Of the jubilee
nhow. and the newspapers hailed him rs n wei.
come topic that could for a y while stall or tho
ally seasons big Rooseberry or sea serpent. His
silver helmet, his beautiful sword. his cream
colorod uniform, were al once looked upon as
"propcrties,' and this amiable dospot was
ranked In much the same category as the far
famed twins that came from his native country.
30 determined were the public to have
amusement out OF him that thcy even made
fun Of his namo. Prahbat Somdetch Phra Para
nende Maha Chulalongkorn Klow. King Of
6iam. OF tho Golden Throne and Lord OF the
Wnlto htepnhnL-lJ IL certainty a nlgn-bOunu-
Ing title. But might not q Siamcse smile at a
granddaughter OF Queen Victoria, whose god.
fathers and godmothers called her Francisco
Josephs Louise Augusta Marie Christiana
Helensi And Is the title Of Lord Of the White
Elephant I" moro amusing than that of Knight
Of the Black Esglo of Prussia" which 10 among
the distinctions Of his Royal Highness Arthur
William Patrick Albert, Duke Of Connaught
and Strathoarn. X. O.. X. T., X. p. G. G. s. l.,
@. G. NJ. G., g. G. l. T., K. c. b.. p. c., V. D., Sci
It all depends upon the point Of Wow.
England's present guest Ia one Of old King
Phra's eighty.four children. The old King was q
man, like all Siamese, OF peaceful disposition
and good intentions. The integrity Of his king
dom and the preservation Of its customs de.
pended. he knew, upon keeping out Europeans.
Nevertheless. he recognized the advantages of
Western civilization. and after much debate in
1862 he decided, against his own feelings and on
the grounds of expediency solely, to engage a
European tutor for his family. When one con-
oiders the size Of that family II would seem
moro natural for him to have imported q whole
college staf. But no doubt he intended from
the hrst to make merely a careful selection to
submit to the experiment OF European education.
However that may be, ho wrote to Mrs. Leon
even. an English governess, inviting her TO I'M
dertake the education Of his children. 1--WE
hope" he wrote, that in giving your education
30 us and to our children whom tho English call
Che Inhabitants Of a country OF darkness) you
viii do your best to teach the English language
and not to preach the Christian religion. for we
desire TO learn to speak your language f~uently.
and 70 become acquainted with your literature
tather than . new religion"
Mrs. Leonowsn. courageous woman, accepted
the invitation. The present King-who as
eended the Golden Throne in 1868, when only
40 years Of age-was her favorite pupil Ar
opt scholar, he soon learned to write and speak
English and French huently. Mrs. Leonowen
remained ak years In SIAM But in his old age
King Phra became 30 bad-temperod and savage
hat her position became intolerabIc, and she
left Slam in 1858, q few months before the
Kings death. It Is only fair to her to say that
before this happened she was the only one at
court who had the courage to Withstand the
King, and the consequence was she gained
great influence over him, so that every one who
wanted Q royal favor used to como to her first.
When the boy ChulalonRkorn became King he
found himself no moro fgurehead to a State.
The executive power Of the country is vested
solely In the King. He 10 the owner Of every
yard Of land. Of the trees and crops that grow
out Of II, and Of the minerals buried In it. He
has absolute power Of life and death over all his
subjects. Every man IL obliged to give three
months free labor every year to the State, at
whatever work the royal officers may direct,
Formerly the despotio power OF the King was
diminished by the existence Of q second
King. In tho first King were vested
two thirds OF the power. while the second
King exercised the remaining third. But in
reality the second King was merely kept for
show. Some years ago the two Kings quar-
rolled. The second King Immediately went to
the British Consulate and put himself under
British protection. Chulalongkorn locked him
self up In his bedroom for safety. When the
second King died, In 1887, the King abolished
tho Office Of q subordinate ruler. 1t was q good
way out offuture difficulties.
The kingship Is now hereditary, though
formerly the King on dying nominated his sue
cesSor. Tho King is an absolute monarch, but
he has a Cabinet Council Of six royal princes
and thirteen Ministers Of State. In 1896 q leg
islative council was instituted by special decree.
consisting Of the Ministers and at least twelve
mobiles. The kingdom is divided into forty -ono
provinces. each with its own governor. The
chief Sub-regal authorities are the two full and
twenty half brothers of the King. Members of
o large royal family can generally find a billet.
The annual revenue Of the country is about ten
million dollars. Thero Is q small army drilled
BY Europeans. This 10 prosaic. Romance,
Orientalism, or comic opera comes In with tho
Kings bodyguard. 1t consists entirely of female
soldiers. Thoro are four hundred of these
Amazons, the strongest and most beautiful
women in Slam. They enter the corps at thir.
'teeh, and after twelve years service pass into
the reserve. Armed with tho lance, they form
tho Kings guard OF honor on all occasions.
Domestic life in tho palace ia simple. The
King gets up ct about B o'clock. Breakfast Ia
served by members of the harem In the gardens.
Twelve women kneeling before the King present
twelve largo silver trayB. on which are placed
4Alforent kinds Of food. Breakfast finished. n
company of 100 priests advance. One cannot
help thinking Of the comic opera. The priests
are guarded BY soldiers with swords and clubs.
But their errand 10 perfectly peaceful; they
simply como TO beg. Priests In Siam depend on
charity for their food. They present their big
bowls. and into them tho royal breakfast party
drops the food that has not been eaten.
..s After this the King and his family adjourn to
- the private temple. His Majesty acts as priest,
lights the altar candles. offers lotus leaves, and
reads from the holy books. This takes up about
an hour. Study and correspondence then oc.
oupy the King till luncheon. At Q o'clock he
goes TO the bath. where his wives shampoo and