Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-06-19

The room covers vast extent its cell
ing being at least fifty feet from the floor.
1t Is longer than the east room at the
White House and as wide as theater.
AT the back there Is rostrum. upon which
the king sits at such times a golden
chair, under royal umbrellas upheld by
servants. Around the room running along
tie walls and extending some distance out
from the ends there Is a very thicket Of
golden trees and bushes. These little trees
lave their trunks and branches plated with
gold. The leaves are of solid gold, are
also the smaller twigs. They are made by
the cunning gold workers Of the different
provinces. and are sent by the governor
and subordinate officials in different parts
OF the kingdom as presents to his majesty.
On one side of the room I saw number
Of silver trees among the gold ones. and
1t seemed to ME that the amount of metal
required to make them must have been
worth a fortune.
The Queen and the Harem.
1t is according to law for the king to
take one of his half sisters as a wife and
to make her his queen. This keeps the
royal family comparatively pure, as only
Ter sons can ascend to the throne. The
present queen is. am told, about fifteen
years younger than the king. She is said
to be a very progressive woman, and to
help him considerably in the conduct
or his government She manages his
household establishment and rules the
harem. Her majesty is a fair type of the
best-looking Siamese maidens. She has a
light brown complexion, oily black hair,
which Is cut short, and which consists OF
black brfsties, like those of shoe brush,
standing out all over her head. Her mates-
ty smokes cigarettes, as do all the ladies' of
her harem. and she is very fond of chew
ing the betel nut Betel nut chewing Is
common among all classes in SIAM This
nut Is the green nut Of the Areca palm In
some respects 1t makes you think Of a
green walnut. 1t Is cut into little pieces
and mixed with tobacco and pink-colored
lime, the mixture forming the cud which
Slamese ladies' chew with more gusto than
any OF our American girls chew wax
Betel chewing is far more disgusting
than wax chewing. As the fair betel
chewers masticate their toothsome cud its
mouths seem to be filled with blood. Their
teeth become as black as jet and their lips
are turned dark brown. Black teeth in
Siam are a sign of beauty. The people
white teeth. but 1t Is only those who are
rich enough to afford the betel nut who
can have beautiful black ones Not only
the queen but also all the ladies' of the
harem chew. visited a large store right
near the palace. which furnishes the ladies
much OF their finery, their sweetmeats and
their articles Of toilet. Among other
things which are sold are betel spittoons
These are little cups about the size of q
shaving mug. Every one of the kings
wives has one or two, and each lady keeps
one always by her side, lifting it to her
lips from time to time and squirting out
into 1t her surplus saliva. Every lady Of
the harem has also her betel box This La
Tor the materials Of chewing. Some Of the
boxes are OF silver, and those of the king
and queen are set with jewels. During my
stay in the kings store asked some cues
tons as to the fashions affected by the
queen and the other ladies Of the harem.
l was told that the favorite costume Of
the kings wives Is the surong or waist
cloth, falling to the knees, and q jacket Of
silk. l saw many of the jackets in this
store. They were loosely made. and were
decorated with ribbons and Swiss embroid-
cry. The man told me that most Of the
women preferred to go barefo0ted, and
that most of them wore anklets of gold.
The king keeps between one and two hum
lected from the best families of the coun-
try. and was told that the mobiles Of the
court were anxious to have their daughters
taken up by the king. as through them
they were able to secure fat jobs and off,
cial favor. The rules governing the kings
household establishment are very rigid. No
woman can go outside Of the palace with
out his permission, and her days Of royal ia
vor are usually short. After the age Of twen-
ty-five, II q woman has not had children,
she becomes ono OF the waiting maids OF
the younger wives, new girls being brought
an even larger harem than the present
one. His wives came from China and In
dia, as well as Siam. and he was anxious.
1t Is said, to add some well-bred English
girls to his gallery OF beauties
ModeRn Progress I'm Siam.
The king has . cabinet Of twelve
members and many subordinate on
cials. although no settles the most
important matters himself. Not . doll
lar can 60 out Of his treasury without
bis signature. While was in Bangkok
young American who had been teaching
the kings children wanted his sAlary. The
treasury officials knew that It was due, but
1t could not be paid until his majesty came
back from his trip into the interior. Chul-
that Siam has ever had. He has taken M
with foreign ways and has to certain ex-
tent nodorniIed Slam The cnsrnfev II =