on, comforting him with the howlings
already described. It was pleasant to see, in
the early morning, women on their way to
market. Love of gossip, so dear to us
daughters of Eve, is not checked by any
difficulties attendant on the steering of a
small boat heavily laden, that it needs all the
owner's skill to keep well out of harm's way,
in the middle of the stream. Siamese women
chat at ease upon their highway. Two and
three, or even more, of their little boats may
be seen fastened together, and thus floating
along swiftly with the tide, their owners
apparently indifferent as to the fate of
their craft. But the indifference is only
apparent; their skill being so great that a mere
turn of the broad-bladed scull, from time to
time, is enough to prevent any variation in
their coarse.

Swimming is, of course, a general
accomplishment. The Siamese spend three-fourths
of their existence in the water. Their
first act on awakening, is to bathe; they
bathe again at eleven o'clock; they bathe
again at three; and bathe again about
sunset; there is scarcely an hour in the
day when bathers may not be seen in all
the creeks, even the shallowest and
muddiest. Boys go to play in the river, just as
poor English children go to play in the street.
I once saw a Siamese woman sitting on the
lowest step of a landing-place; while, by a
girdle, she held in the water her infant of
a few months old, splashing and kicking
about with evident enjoyment. "Were not
these people expert swimmers, many lives
would be lost; for the tide flows so swiftly,
that it needs the greatest skill and care to
prevent boats from running foul of one
another; and, of course, they are frequently
upset. On one occasion, our boat (an English
built gig) ran down a small native canoe,
containing a woman and two little children.
In an instant they were all capsized, and
disappeared. We were greatly alarmed,
and C. was on the point of jumping in to
their rescue, when they bobbed up, and the
lady, with the first breath she recovered,
poured forth a round volley of abuse. Thus
relieved in her mind, she coolly righted her
canoe—which had been floating bottom
upwards—ladled out some of the water, and
bundled in her two children, who had been
meanwhile, composedly swimming round her,
regarding with mingled fear and curiosity the
barbarians who had occasioned the mishap.

But, there is land at Bangkok, and that land
is built upon. The Wats, or temples, are the
most conspicuous edifices; and, from a
distance, appear—what they are not—very
beautiful. The grounds around them are often
prettily laid out, and planted with the banyan,
which here, as in India, is the favourite tree.
Salas, or buildings for the benefit of travellers
and strangers, are likewise scattered here and
there. The Siamese appear to be extremely
fond of the carvings in stone, and other
grotesque ornaments peculiar to China. At
the entrance of a temple there often stands,
on either side, a colossal figure in stone, or
composition, brilliantly coloured, representing
some enraged personage ready to demolish
the intruder. Stone lions and dragons are
also general; and, upon the ornamental rock-work
around, miniature lakes and ponds, are
to be seen figures of every animal and creeping
thing. These are brought from China at
a great cost, and the money and labour
expended in such decorations must be very
great; for all these religious buildings abound
in them. One temple that we visited, when
first observed, seemed to be painted, and we
admired the skill and patience spent upon its
walls; but, as we approached, we discovered
the stars, large and small, with which the
entire building was covered, to be composed
of blue china plates (of the old willow
pattern), fixed in plaster, and surrounded by
a radiance of ladles of the same. Each star
consisted of one plate with about twelve or
fourteen ladles. There were also some
pillars richly capped with soup tureens.

A temple generally consists of six or more
distinct buildings, within a large enclosure;
each contains a shrine, and is more or less
decorated. Around the enclosure are situated
the dwellings of the priests and
neophytes. The number of these structures
would be very surprising, were it not for the
existing belief that any man building for
himself a temple, insures to himself in Paradise
a future of unequalled bliss, or a re-
appearance upon earth in some highly desirable
form. It follows, therefore, that few blessed
with worldly riches, neglect the reward
obtained by so simple a means, and such
edifices are to be seen in every direction;
usually placed in charming nooks, and
planted with fine shady trees.

The system of the priesthood is peculiar.
None are admitted into it before the age of
twenty-one. Three times seven being in
Siam, as in England, the age mystical. The
consent of the parents is necessary before the
novitiate is entered upon, and a vow of
poverty is enforced. The priest leaves all
his possessions, not excepting wife and children;
but they may be resumed on quitting
the sacred calling, and the priest may quit it
whenever he pleases. His wife may, however,
if she please, refuse to return. She may even
contract another marriage, since, in the eyes
of the law, he is a dead man who is a member
of the priesthood. Each priest is compelled
to beg his daily food, and this is the most
distasteful of all his obligations. It is not
uninteresting to observe the Siamese clergy,
betimes in the morning, going by boat from
house to house, to receive the appointed-
portions of rice, fruit, &c. It generally is the
duty of the housewife to bestow the dole, and
she sits quietly waiting for her pious visitor,
with the bowl of rice by her side, and
frequently a child upon her lap. On the appearance