Cheyenne record., 1920-08-12

and spoke 1t iuentIy-so fuently that she became
the gobetween and interpreter for Siamese >nobh-
ity and many of the other young European lad'es
who. like herself. had married the bluebloods OF
Siam. She was the first of their number to doh
the Siamese costume and wore 1t with such grace
that the others soon followed. and not long ago
the queen mother delighted to see all OF
the foreign prnceSses" appear before her robed
In the brilliant-hued dress of her own court
OF course. sbeng a foreigner and not being
equal in blood TO her royal husband. 1t would ne
impossible TO think that one of her two sons
should possibly wear the SiaineSe crown And so
the choice may be the third of the late King
Chualongkorn and his royal spouse tlje late queen
mother. who before her marriage was known as
Princess Sawa Pa Pongse. This third son. Prince
Nakorn Raiasrima. like his brother the king. ls
unmarried. His younger brother. however. Is
married. and married to u half-sister. daughter
of King Chulnlongkorn. His issue. therefore,
would he In line for the throne.
What may work great change In the policy
of the king the present crisis Is the fact of
the death Of the queen mother. who died last
November md was cremnted last month she
IA woman Of great character and her opinions
had weight with her son. the king. AS a child
she brilliant creature-in both mind and
body. Long before she chosen to be the
queen Of her royal brother she was eager TO learn
everything that "brother' learned and nothing
too hard too difficult for her Impatient
and impetuOuS mind.
In after life the little princess proved to he all
that she had promised as child. lover OF the
beautiful. she demanded and had about her the
beautiful things of life Not only flowers and
colOrs and Jewels for the body did she demand
but flowers and colOrs and Jewels for the mind
Never before had the young women of Siam so
universal opportunity for study The queen
mother built school after schOOl-schOols for the
princesSrs-Over which her own niece was Placed
as "srhool mother" and for the staff of teachers
Of which she searched England. Europe and Amer
lea. Not content with this she Instituted other
schools for the Others-girls who had no royal
blood In their veins but who had brains In their
heads-primary schools. graded schools. high
schools
Long before the war she had become interested
In hospital work and had hospitals for the women
of Siam as plentifully scattered throughout her
kingdom had her royal husband planted hos
pitfalls for men. And when Siam entered the war
II was the queen mother who started the Red
Cross work md gathered around her the chief
women Of the nation. Not content with the nos
pitals already built. she built still another
larger and better equipped than any other In the
Kingdom and for It she sent TO the uttermost
parts of the world for the hest in every depart
ment.
when the young king overthrow all precedent
2 and declared that he would not marry any or MS
half -sisters-that he would not tolerate the royal
lsrem-and that rather than this he would re-
main single. II was the queen mother VINO stoou
by him and who assisted him In bringing ont the
women "
recognized a part Of the new scheme OF things.
A. his majesty's coronation ceremonies the young
women Of the court-the kings half-sisters ana
others who would naturally have become MEM
,.bers of his househOd-were. for the first time In
Siames. history. at the royal ball. In the
Heaters at dinners and other royal public fdnc-
tions was the young king who decreed the
new order. but II was the faithful queen motfer
who made the order practical fact". IN
the life Of the Siamese court.
Siam is a tiny little kingdom. so cunningiy
tucked away under the caves Of greater China that
the average globe trotter passes II by without so
much as a backward glance. But he who does
stop fingers and lingering. is lost In the lure Of
the luxury Of this d!mnutive A~tatic paradise.
For Siam is the richest country OF Its size In the
world, and those who have lived there longest.
claim that II il most fascinating.
The capital of the state Bangkok. Is situated
on the Menam Chao Phya ("the Royal Mother Of
wsters''). a stream that. rising up In the teak
forests Of the North. cuts in twain both the coun-
try and its capital and broadening Its banks flows
ma iestically past the fishing villages past the
padiy fields and empties into the Gulf Of Siam.
The capital Is ten miles upstream. a city Of
nearly nine hundred thousand persOns. II is call
ed the Venice Of the East and II has canals
than its namesake in the Adriatic.
The SiameSe n sOff-voaced. pieasure-iovinK
people; the corners of their mouths turn up-they
are always looking for something better.