BANGKOK AND THE NEW SIAM
"I do not believe," says the Marquis de Beauvoir (in his "Voyage Round
the World," vol. ii.), "that there is a sight in the world more
magnificent or more striking than the first view of Bangkok. This
Asiatic Venice displays all her wonders over an extent of eight miles.
The river is broad and grand; in it more than sixty vessels lie at
anchor. The shores are formed by thousands of floating houses, whose
curiously formed roofs make an even line, while the inhabitants, in
brilliant-colored dresses, appear on the surface of the water. On the
dry land which commands this first amphibious town, the royal city
extends its battlemented walls and white towers. Hundreds of pagodas
rear their gilded spires to the sky, their innumerable domes inlaid with
porcelain and glittering crystals, and the embrasures polished and
carved in open-work. The horizon was bounded to right and left by
sparkling roofs, raised some six or seven stories, enormous steeples of
stone-work, whose brilliant coating dazzled the eyes, and bold spires
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, indicating the
palace of the King, which reflected all the rays of the sun like a
gigantic prism. It seemed as though we had before us a panorama of
porcelain cathedrals.
"The first general view of the Oriental Venice surpassed all that we
could have hoped for in our travellers' dreams. We longed to get into
gondolas and go through the lively canals which are the streets of the
floating town, and where the bustle, animation, and noise bewildered
us.... At length, jumping into a boat, we directed our rowers toward the
tower of the Catholic mission by signs. We were nearly an hour crossing
over, as we had to struggle against the rising tide. Thus we were able
to study the details of the floating town while we went through its
streets, or rather canals, between the crowded houses, each one of which
formed a small island. We met and passed thousands of light boats, which
are the cabs and omnibuses of Bangkok. The waving paddle makes them
glide like nut-shells from one shop to another. Some were not much more
than three feet long, with one Siamese squeezed in between piles of
rice, bananas, or fish; others hold fifteen people, and are so crowded
that one can hardly see the edge of the boat, which is a hollow
palm-tree....
"As to the children, who are scattered about in profusion, their dress
consists of a daub of yellow paint; but they are most fascinating little
things. I was charmed with them from the very first moment, but it
grieves me to think that some day they will become as ugly as their
fathers and mothers--and that is saying much! Their little hair-tufts,
twisted round with a great gold pin, are surrounded by pretty wreaths of
white flowers. They are merry and full of tricks, and very pretty to
see in their childish nakedness; yet they are more dressed than the
grown-up young ladies who were bathing. Besides a heap of bracelets and
necklaces of gold or copper gilt, with which they are covered like
idols, they wear a small vine-leaf, cut in the shape of a heart, and
hung round the waist by a slight thread. This hanging leaf, which is
about two inches long and one and a half broad, marks their caste. For
the rich it is gold, for the middle classes silver, for the poor red
copper.
"The grandest and most characteristic pagoda is on the right bank,
surrounded by a fine and verdant wood. It rises amidst a cluster of
small towers which command a central pyramid three hundred feet high.
This is at the base in the form of the lower part of a cone, with one
hundred and fifty steps; then it becomes a six-sided tower with dormer
windows supported by three white elephants' trunks; the graceful spire
then rises from a nest of turrets, and shoots upward like a single
column rounded off into a cupola at the summit; from thence a bronze
gilt arrow extends twenty crooked arms that pierce the clouds. When
lighted up by the rays of the sun it all becomes one mass of brilliancy;
the enamelled colors of flaming earthenware, the coating of thousands of
polished roses standing out in the alabaster, give to this pagoda, with
its pure and brilliant architecture unknown under any other sky, the
magical effect of a dream with the colossal signs of reality.
"As we approached it, gliding slowly along in a gondola against the
impetuous current of the river, the promontory looked like an entire
town, a sacred town of irregular towers, crowded kiosques, painted
summer-houses, colonnades and statues of pink marble and red porphyry.
But on landing we had to pass the ditches and shallows which surround
the sacred ramparts, where, walking with measured steps, was a whole
population of men, with heads and eyebrows shaved, and whose dress was a
long saffron-colored Roman toga. These were the 'talapoins,' or Buddhist
priests. In one hand they hold an iron saucepan, and in the other the
'talapat,' a great fan of palm-leaves, the distinguishing sign of their
rank. The lanes they live in are horribly dirty, and their houses are
huts built of dirty planks and bricks, which are falling to pieces. One
could imagine them to be the foul drains of the porcelain palaces which
touch them, luckily hidden by bowers of luxuriant trees. More than seven
hundred talapoins or 'phras' looked at us as we passed, with an
indifference that bordered on contempt. And when we saw the sleepy and
besotted priests of Buddha, who looked like lazy beggars, and the twelve
or fifteen hundred ragged urchins who surrounded them in the capacity of
choristers, and who grow up in the slums together with groups of geese,
pigs, chickens, and stray dogs, it seemed a menagerie of mud, dirt, and
vermin belonging to the monastery; and we could not help noticing the
remarkable contrast which exists between the fairy-like appearance of
the temple as seen from the town, and the horrible condition of the
hundreds of priests who serve it.
"We only had to go up a few steps to pass from the dirty huts to
marble terraces. We scaled the great pyramid as high as we could go; no
such easy matter beneath a scorching sun which took away our strength,
and blinded by the dazzling whiteness of the stone-work. But a panorama
of the whole town was now laid before us, with the windings of the
river, the royal palaces, the eleven pagodas in the first enclosure, the
two and twenty in the second, and some four hundred porcelain towers and
spires, looking as though planted in a mound of verdure formed by the
masses of tropical vegetation. In the symmetrical colonnades which we
visited there are hundreds of altars, decorated with millions of
statuettes of Buddha, in gold, silver, copper, or porphyry. On the left
side is a very large temple with a five-storied roof in blue, green, and
yellow tiles, and dazzling walls. A double door of gigantic size, all
lacker-work inlaid with mother-o'-pearl, opened to us, and we were in
the presence of a Buddha of colored stone-work. He was seated on a
stool, nearly fifty feet high, his legs crossed, a pointed crown upon
his head, great white eyes, and his height was nearly forty feet. This
deified mass, altogether attaining to the height of ninety feet, is the
only thing that remains unmoved at the sound of more than fifty gongs
and tom-toms, which the bonzes beat with all their strength. Incense
burns in bronze cups, and a ray of light penetrating the window strikes
upon five rows of gilded statuettes which, in a body of two or three
hundred, crouch at the feet of the great god, and baskets of splendid
fruit are offered to them: you can imagine who eats it. Suits of armor
are fixed against the walls, and at certain distances the seven-storied
umbrella hangs like a banner. As for the bas-reliefs, their description
would take a whole volume; they represent all the tortures of the
Buddhist hell. I shuddered as I looked on these wretched creatures, some
fainting away, thrusting out their tongues, which serpents devoured, or
picking up an eye torn out by the claw of an eagle, twisting round like
tee-totums, or eagerly devouring human brains in the split skull of
their neighbor. On the other side of these walls there are colored
frescoes. The illustrations extend into a whole world of detail of the
Buddhist religion, which varies in every part of Asia and is so
impossible to separate from tradition, and so contradictory in its
laws."
[Illustration: PORTICO OF THE AUDIENCE HALL AT BANGKOK.]
Each king in turn seems to wish to rebuild the royal residence, and here
is a brief description, from Mr. Bock, of that which King Chulalonkorn
has erected for himself: "Adjoining the old building is the new palace,
called the Chakr Kri Maha Prasat, the erection of which has long been a
favorite scheme of his majesty, who in 1880 took formal possession of
the building. The style is a mixture of different schools of European
architecture, the picturesque and characteristic Siamese roof, however,
being retained. The internal fittings of this palace are on a most
elaborate scale, the most costly furniture having been imported from
London at an expense of no less than £80,000. One of the features of the
palace is a large and well-stocked library, in which the king takes
great interest--all the leading European and American periodicals being
regularly taken in.
"Here the king transacts all state business, assisted by his brother and
private secretary, Prince Devawongsa--usually called Prince Devan. These
two are probably the hardest-worked men in the country, nothing being
too great or too trivial to escape the king's notice. A friend of mine,
who has had many opportunities of observing the king's actions, writes
to me: 'Every officer of any importance is compelled to report in person
at the palace, and the entire affairs of the kingdom pass in detail
before his majesty daily. Although the king is obliged through policy to
overlook, or pretend not to see, very many abuses in the administration
of his government, yet they do not escape his eye, and in some future
time will come up for judgment.'
"Inside the palace gates were a number of soldiers in complete European
uniform, _minus_ the boots, which only officers are allowed to wear. At
the head of the guard, inside the palace gates, is the king's aunt, who
is always 'on duty,' and never allows anyone to pass without a proper
permit. Passing through a long succession of courts and courtyards, past
a series of two-storied and white-washed buildings--the library, museum,
barracks, mint, etc., all of which are conveniently placed within the
palace grounds--we were led to an open pavilion, furnished with chairs
and tables of European manufacture, in which were two court officers,
neatly dressed in the very becoming court suit--snow-white jacket with
gold buttons, a 'pa-nung,' or scarf, so folded round the body as to
resemble knickerbockers, with white stockings and buckled shoes....
"The ninth child of his father and predecessor on the throne, King
Chulalonkorn has profited by the liberal education which that father was
careful to give him, and, with a mind fully impressed by the advantages
afforded by large and varied stores of knowledge, he has striven to give
practical effect to the Western ideas thus early instilled in him. Born
on September 22, 1853, he was only fifteen years of age when he came to
the throne, and during his minority his Highness the Somdeth Chow Phya
Boromaha Sri Suriwongse--an able and upright statesman, the head of the
most powerful and noble family in the country, which practically rules
the greater portion of Western Siam--acted as regent.... Although the
king shows great favor to Europeans, he does not display any undue
predilection for them, and only avails himself of their assistance so
far as their services are indispensable, and as a means of leavening the
mass of native officialdom. The example of the sovereign has not been
without its effect on the minds of his native advisers, and the princes
and officials by whom he is surrounded are rapidly developing
enlightened ideas. This is the more important since many of the highest
offices are hereditary, and there is consequently not the same scope for
the choice by the king of men after his own heart which he would
otherwise have. As one instance out of many, I may mention the case of
his Highness Chow Sai, the king's body-physician, one of the last
offices that one would suppose to be hereditary! Chow Sai is one of
those princes who are favorably disposed toward Europeans; he is well
read, and some years ago sent his eldest son to be thoroughly educated
for the medical profession in Scotland. Chow Sai's father, by the way,
was a great believer in European medicines, especially Holloway's pills,
of which he ordered the enormous quantity of ten piculs, or over 1,330
pounds; a large stock still remain, with their qualities, no doubt,
unimpaired."
Before leaving the palace we may pause a moment to hear a quaint tale of
Oriental cunning by means of which a former king succeeded in obtaining
the jar of sacred oil still preserved here with religious care. The
story, as told in Cameron's book,[11] reminds one of the artful dodges
employed by zealous monks of the Middle Ages to secure saints' relics
with their profitable blessings. "When the English took possession of
Ceylon," relates the author, "Tickery Bundah and two or three
brothers--children of the first minister of the King of the
Kandians--were taken and educated in English by the governor. Tickery
afterward became manager of coffee plantations, and was so on the
arrival of the Siamese mission of priests in 1845 in search of Buddha's
tooth. It seems he met the mission returning disconsolate, having spent
some £5,000 in presents and bribes in a vain endeavor to obtain a sight
of the relic. Tickery learned their story, and at once ordered them to
unload their carts and wait for three days longer, and in due time he
promised to obtain for them the desired view of the holy tooth. He had a
check on the bank for £200 in his hands at the time, and this he
offered to leave with the priests as a guarantee that he would fulfil
his promise; he does not say whether the check was his own or his
master's, or whether it was handed over or not. Perhaps it was the check
for the misappropriation of which he afterward found his way to the
convict lines of Malacca. The Siamese priests accepted his undertaking
and unloaded the baggage, agreeing to wait for three days. Tickery
immediately placed himself in communication with the governor, and
represented, as he says, forcibly the impositions that must have been
practised upon the King of Siam's holy mission, when they had expended
all their gifts and not yet obtained the desired view of the tooth.
"The governor, who, Tickery says, was a great friend of his, appreciated
the hardship of the priests, and agreed that the relic should be shown
to them with as little delay as possible. It happened, however, that the
keys of the mosque where the relic was preserved were in the keeping of
the then resident councillor, who was away some eight miles elephant
shooting. But the difficulty was not long allowed to remain in the way.
Tickery immediately suggested that it was very improbable the councillor
would have included these keys in his hunting furniture, and insisted
that they must be in his house. He therefore asked the governor's leave
to call upon his wife, and, presenting the governor's compliments, to
request a search to be made for the keys. Tickery was deputed
accordingly, and by dint of his characteristic tact and force of
language, carried the keys triumphantly to the governor.
"The Kandy priests were immediately notified that their presence was
desired, as it was intended to exhibit the great relic, and their
guardian offices would be necessary. Accordingly, on the third day the
mosque or temple was opened; and in the building were assembled the
Siamese priests and worshippers with Tickery on the one side the Kandy
or guardian priests on the other, and the recorder and the governor in
the centre.
"After making all due offering to the tooth of the great deity, the
Siamese head priest, who had brought a golden jar filled with otto of
roses, desired to have a small piece of cotton with some of the otto of
roses rubbed on the tooth and then passed into the jar, thereby to
consecrate the whole of the contents. To this process the Kandy priests
objected, as being a liberty too great to be extended to any foreigners.
The Siamese, however, persevered in their requests, and the governor and
recorder, not knowing the cause of the altercation, inquired of Tickery.
Tickery, who had fairly espoused the cause of the Siamese, though
knowing that in their last request they had exceeded all precedent,
resolved quietly to gratify their wish; so in answer to the governor's
interrogatory, took from the hands of the Siamese priest a small piece
of cotton and the golden jar of oil. 'This is what they want, your
honor; they want to take this small piece of cotton--so; and having
dipped it in this oil--so; they wish to rub it on this here sacred
tooth--so; and having done this to return it to the jar of oil--so;
thereby, your honor, to consecrate the whole contents.' All the words of
Tickery were accompanied by the corresponding action, and of course the
desired ceremony had been performed in affording the explanation. The
whole thing was the work of a moment. The governor and recorder did not
know how to interpose in time, though they were aware that such a
proceeding was against all precedent. The Kandy priests were taken
aback, and the Siamese priests, having obtained the desired object, took
from Tickery's hands the now consecrated jar, with every demonstration
of fervent gratitude. The Kandy priests were loud in their indignation;
but the governor, patting Tickery on the back said, 'Tickery, my boy,
you have settled the question for us; it is a pity you were not born in
the precincts of St. James', for you would have made a splendid
political agent!'
"Tickery received next morning a _douceur_ of a thousand rupees from the
priests, and ever since has been held in the highest esteem and respect
by the King of Siam, also by the Buddhist priests, by whom he is
considered a holy man. From the King he receives honorary and
substantial tokens of royal favor. He has _carte blanche_ to draw on the
King for any amount, but he says he has as yet contented himself with a
moderate draft of seven hundred dollars."
There used to be a story current in Bangkok that every new king made it
his pious care to set up in one of the royal temples a life-size image
of Buddha of solid gold. Though we need not believe this tale, it would
be hard to exaggerate the impression of lavishness and distinction
produced upon the visitor to this city, full of temples. Nothing in
great China or artistic Japan can compare with their peculiar
brilliance or their wonderful array of color flashing in the tropical
sunlight. We have no reason to repeat the enthusiastic descriptions
which travellers never tire of giving, impressed as they are sure to be
by an architecture which, with all its wealth and oddity of detail,
harmonizes perfectly with the rich vegetation in the midst of which it
is placed. Change and decay are, however, doing their part in reducing
the picturesqueness of this strange city. No Oriental thinks of
perpetuating a public monument by means of constant attention and
repairs, and many of these gay edifices already lose their fine details
by long exposure to the effects of a climate in which nothing endures
long if left to itself. With the improvements introduced by the present
king and his father are disappearing also many of those features of
daily life in the capital which once heightened its oriental charm. A
pleasure park has been made, in which, and on some of the new macadam
roads about the city, the foreigners and richer natives drive in wheeled
vehicles. So long, however, as the roads are covered by the annual
inundations and made unserviceable for months at a time, the use of
carriages must be almost as restricted here as that of horses in Venice.
A more regrettable innovation is that of dress-coats, starched linens,
and to some extent dresses, in the fashionable circles of Siam. Taken
out of their easy and becoming costumes, and encased in ill-fitting and
uncomfortable Western clothes, the Siamese nobles can hardly be said to
have improved on the old days. With the removal of their nakedness the
lower classes, too, are becoming more conscious, while contact with a
higher civilization has introduced vices among them without always
bringing in their train the Christian virtues of cleanliness and truth.
The population of Bangkok increases steadily with its prosperity and
influence, and is to-day variously estimated at from three hundred
thousand to half a million souls, nearly half of whom perhaps are
Chinese. Its main article of export is rice, which goes not only to
every country of Asia, but to Australia and America. Sugar and spices,
as well as all products of tropical forests, are also largely exported.
The customs returns of 1890 show a considerable improvement of the
Bangkok trade over previous years, the exports being $19,257,728 against
$13,317,696 for 1889, a difference of over $5,540,000; the imports of
1890 were $15,786,120, against $9,599,541 in 1889, a gain of more than
six millions.
Gas and kerosene are both used for illumination, the former in the
palaces of royalty and the nobility, where the electric light has also
been introduced. Foreign steam engines and machinery are employed in
increasing numbers, while iron bridges span many of the smaller canals,
and steam dredges keep the river channel clear. Telegraphic
communication has long since been established with the French settlement
of Saigon, in Cochin China, and thus with the outer world, and since the
British occupation of Burmah a line is promised from Rangoon into Siam.
A railway has been commenced between Bangkok and Ayuthia, to extend
thence to Korat, a total distance of 170 miles; but the overflow of the
Meinam, which renders a considerable embankment or causeway along the
river necessary, is a serious obstacle to its construction, while the
great water-way itself renders a railroad less necessary in Siam than in
other countries. Another line, from Bangkok to the mouth of the Pakong
River, 36 miles southeast of the city, is also in contemplation; while a
design exists to eventually connect Zimmé with the sea by a line running
the whole length of the Meinam Valley.
Thus the beautiful city, in awaking from the dream of its old, narrow
life, must become by degrees like other busy trade centres of the
civilized world, cursed with its sins as well as blessed with its
strength and excellence. The tastes and education of the present
sovereign have led him to hasten, so far as a single will could, this
progress toward modern methods of living. He has abolished the ancient
custom of prostration in the presence of a superior, so that now a
subject may approach even his king without abasement. He has by degrees
put an end to slavery as a legalized institution, throughout the
country, and although many of his poorer subjects are hardly better off
under the system of forced service than as actual slaves, the change, if
only in some sort one of name, is a change for the better. He strives to
make Bangkok the pulse of the kingdom, through which the life-blood of
its commerce and control must course, achieving by his polity that
highly centred system of administration, without which no pure despotism
can be either beneficial or successful.
As an indication of the spirit that is quickening New Siam we should not
forget to mention the exhibition held in Bangkok in 1882, to celebrate
the centennial of the present dynasty and of its establishment as the
capital. An object-lesson on such a grand scale was of course a thing
before unheard-of in Eastern Asia, but its benefits to the people of
this region were both wide-spread and real, and are still to some extent
active in the form of a museum where many of the exhibits are
permanently preserved for examination and display. "The exhibition will
be given"--run the words of the royal announcement--"so that the people
may observe the difference between the methods used to earn a living one
hundred years ago and those now used, and see what progress has been
made, and note the plants and fruits useful for trade and the improved
means of living. We believe that this exhibition will be beneficial to
the country."
Miss Mary Hartwell, one of the American missionaries in Bangkok, in
describing the exposition says: "Nothing there was more significant than
its school exhibit. The Royal College was solicited to make an exhibit
representing the work done in the school. This consisted chiefly of
specimens of writing in Siamese and English, translations and solutions
of problems in arithmetic, the school furniture, the text-books in use,
and the various helps employed in teaching, such as the microscope,
magnets, electric batteries, etc. The Siamese mind is peculiarly adapted
to picking up information by looking at things and asking questions, and
it is believed that this exhibit will not only enhance the reputation of
the college, but give the Siamese some new ideas on the subject of
education.
[Illustration: THE PALACE OF THE KING OF SIAM, BANGKOK.]
"Miss Olmstead and I, together with our assistant, Ma Tuen, have been
training little fingers in fancy-work, or rather overseeing the
finishing up of things, to go to the exhibition. April 25th we placed
our mats, tidies, afghans, rugs, cushions, needle-books, edgings,
work-bags, and lambrequins in the cases allotted to our school in the
Queen's Room, and on the 26th we were again at our posts to receive his
Majesty the King, and give him our salutations upon his first entrance
at the grand opening. He was dressed in a perfectly-fitting suit of
navy-blue broadcloth, without any gaudy trappings, and never did he wear
a more becoming suit. His face was radiant with joy, and his quick,
elastic step soon brought him to us. He uttered an exclamation of
pleasure at seeing us there, shook our hands most cordially, took a
hasty survey of our exhibits, and then cried out with boyish enthusiasm,
'These things are beautiful, mem; did you make them?' 'Oh, no,' I
responded, 'we taught the children, and they made them.' 'Have you many
scholars?' was the next question. 'About thirty-one,' I answered.
Turning again to the cases he exclaimed, emphatically, 'They are
beautiful things, and I am coming back to look at them carefully--am in
haste now.' And off he went to the other departments. Since then we see
by the paper published in Bangkok, that his Majesty has paid the girls'
school of Bangkok the high compliment of declaring himself the purchaser
of the collection, and has attached his name to the cases."
"The king of this country," says a discriminating writer in the
_Saturday Review_, "is no doubt one of the monarchs whom it is the
fashion to call 'enlightened.' But he understands the word in a very
different sense from that which is often applied to it in London. He
does not interpret it to mean a sovereign who throws about valuable
lands and privileges to be scrambled for by all the needy adventurers
and greedy speculators who are on the watch for such pickings. No; King
Chulalonkorn and his ministers, many of whom are highly accomplished
men, are sincerely anxious for the speedy development of the great
resources over which they have command. They have shown, by the most
practical proofs, that they have this desire and are able to carry it
out. An extensive network of telegraphs has rapidly been established
throughout their wide territory. Schools, hospitals, and other public
buildings have been erected and are increasing every day. In 1888 a
tramway company, mainly supported by Siamese capital, began running cars
in the metropolis. A river flotilla company, wholly Siamese, carries the
passenger traffic of the fine stream on which Bangkok is built; and in
1889 important gold-mining operations were begun by a company formed in
London, in which the great majority of subscribers are Siamese nobles
and other inhabitants of that country. Lastly, a well-known Englishman,
formerly Governor of the Straits Settlements, obtained some years ago a
contract for surveying a trunk line of railway in Siam, for which he was
paid some £50,000 by the Siamese government.
"With these evidences staring us in the face, it would be very absurd to
speak of the country or its ruler as hanging back in the path of
progress. One must, moreover, remember that, besides these signs of
advancement, a free field has been and is opened to the wide employment
of foreign capital in ordinary matters of trade. Rice-mills, saw-mills,
and docks are doing a very large business, with very large profits to
their owners, who consist of English, French, German, and Chinese
capitalists.... A policy of reaction or inaction is the very reverse of
that which Siam now professes; and the ruling powers in that country are
as anxious as any foreigner to improve it in a wise, liberal, and even
generous spirit. We have thus, on the one hand, a king and ministers
sincerely desirous of promoting European enterprise, and, on the other
hand, a European public hardly less ready to embark capital therein."
Unfortunately for Siam, there lies in the way of her advancement the
same stumbling-block of extra-territoriality which has impeded the
honest aspirations of other Asiatic states. The term implies those civil
and judicial rights enjoyed by foreigners living in the East, who, under
treaties for the most part extorted when the conditions were entirely
different, exercise the privilege of governing and judging themselves
independently of native officers and tribunals. In such eager and
enlightened countries as Japan and Siam, this limitation to the autonomy
of the sovereign is peculiarly humiliating as well as intensely
unsuitable to existing conditions. The simplest measures of police
ordinance and local government, even if it be a new liquor traffic law,
or an opium farm regulation, cannot be carried into effect without the
separate consent of every European power, whether great or small, which
has a consul in the place. Add to this the too common contingency of
unjust or inefficient consuls, wholly unqualified for their offices, and
their frequent inability to properly control the adventurers or aliens
nominally residing under their flag, and the drawbacks to further
improvement in Siam, as in other parts of Asia, may be dimly understood.
With the revision of the antiquated treaties now in force commercial
relations between Siam and the countries of Christendom would soon be
established on a fair footing, to the mutual advantage of all parties
interested.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India.
THE END.
[Transcriber's Notes: Obvious typographical errors have been corrected,
for instance, decribing - describing panaroma - panorama, leve - level,
nothen - northen, Kingdon - Kingdom, nothwithstanding - notwithstanding,
Christain - Christian, and dinder - dinner. Hyphenation of Lopha-buri
standardized.]