socks were carefully drawn over her shoes,
although that was a feat not easy to accomplish.

Much of the healthiness of Bangkok, as a
densely populated oriental city, may be
attributed to the custom of burning the dead—
general in Siam. Of the existence of this
practice I had been ignorant, and it was first
brought to my knowledge in a very odd
way. On the morning after our arrival,
while breakfasting at the house of the
American consul, much stir and excitement arose
among the servants. Chairs and tables were
conveyed away; china and glass disappeared;
and constant messages passed to and fro,
apparently for the benefit of The Prince.
Curiosity was natural in us, and we asked
whether the nobles were in the habit of
borrowing the civilised appliances and property
of foreigners? " No," was the reply, " they
do not generally do so; but the prince, being
a near neighbour, considers himself privileged.
He is about to burn his mother, and
anxious to borrow any articles of service to
him for the festivities usual on such
occasions." Burn his mother! I found that the
old lady being dead, her body was to be
burned in the grounds of a neighbouring
temple, where the funeral pile was already
arranged. The preparations for the ceremony
occupied many days, as there were three
royal bodies to be consumed together; an
uncle of the king's, and a princess having
died at the same time. We were invited to
the ceremony. I greatly feared lest our visit
should be so timed as to oblige us to witness
the actual burning, naturally imagining that
such a sight could not be very agreeable.
Notwithstanding my endeavours to the
contrary, we arrived at the moment when the
chief priest, with many prostrations and
much form, lighted the pile. The three
coffins were in the form of urns, about three
feet high, covered with gold leaf, but not
otherwise ornamented: in these the bodies,
already embalmed, had been placed in a
sitting posture, with the knees bent closely
up. The urns were of iron, and the bottom
of each urn was grated. The dead hidden
within them were conveyed in procession,
attended by a vast number of priests and
mourners, to the spot on which they were to
be burned. Here had been erected a large
pavilion, adorned with flags and flowers, and
hung with white and crimson cloth; in the
centre there was a raised platform, perforated
with three holes, and under each of the holes
were laid the materials for a large fire. The
urns having been placed over them, the fires
were lighted, and the bodies rapidly
consumed, the ashes falling down into the glowing
embers. The empty urns were removed
before we left, and no trace of their former
contents was discernible. All unpleasant
odour, probably, was overpowered by the
fumes of incense used by the priests, and by
the fragrant woods of which the fire was
made. This was a grand ceremony of the
kind, and was attended by both kings and all
their wives: we were therefore fortunate in
being witnesses. The priests and all those in
the remotest degree connected with the
deceased, wore white cloth, and girdles of the
same, instead of the usual crimson and blue
garments; the wives of the kings and all the
women were also clothed in white without
exception, but this was the only outward
sign of mourning. Feasting and merriment
succeeded, plays and amusements of all sorts
being liberally provided for the people. The
musicians in the immediate neighbourhood
of the pavilion played a kind of dirge, which
was beautifully plaintive, though of a wild
character. The effect was increased by the
melancholy tone of all Siamese instruments,
which is not unpleasing even when quick and
lively tunes are played.

On a public festival of this sort the kings
and other members of the royal family
present the invited guests with a small bag
containing twelve or fourteen of the green
limes peculiar to the country, into each of
which is thrust the smallest of silver coins,
called a fuang, in value about threepence
halfpenny; sometimes, but very rarely, a gold
fuang may be found. Similar limes are
scattered by handsful to be scrambled for
among the rabble. It frequently occurs on
examination that many of the limes are
empty, the coin or coins having been
purloined by the officer entrusted with the-
responsible duty of concealing them in the
fruit. One of the amusements provided was
of a very simple and primitive description.
The figures of many animals were cut, in by
no means an unartistic manner, out of thick
stiff leather, and placed at the end of long
sticks of bamboo, and were made to dance up
and down in such a way as to cast their
shadows on a large white screen, behind
which was a brilliant fire. The spectators in
front testified their delight by shouts and
screams. These rejoicings were continued
for some days.

Another ceremony of the same kind
occurred after we had lived about three months
in Bangkok, and was conducted with like
pomp and display. C.'s invitation was
written in English by the first king himself;
and, like most of his Majesty's notes, was oddly
expressed. He requested that her Britannic
Majesty's consul  " would attend the funeral
obsequiousness of his pore little dear son."
Nearly all the foreigners in the city were
present on this occasion; and a banquet was
prepared for their especial benefit in one of
the pavilions. Several of them amused
themselves by walking around and watching the
arrangements. Among these, a chief noble
was suddenly seized with a violent irritation
of the leg. For the relief of his annoyance,
he, without hesitation, took a knife from the
side of a plate, and with it deliberately
scratched the offending member for several