| Show d n Jr Pl P I > ji k Our Royal Visitor I t f I i t t i 1 i ff I All About the King of Shun Who is Expr > otc In tho I United States This Fall I I I ji Ut How His Majesty Loots Acts and TiHsHis Vast Possessions and His Enar 1tf mom Income A Visit to His Palace anl Look at the IHlle Elephants I t Ji t The Wonderful Temples of Jiang tok Trees of Gold and Gods Male oft vi f1 of-t 1 JcjelsCossif About the Harem and Us Hundreds of InmatesHo His r Majesty Married His btstitModirn Progress in SiamThe New Rail it 1 roads The Postal Service Etc tF Copingbted lst7 by l bank U Carpenter 1 f peclal torrcfpondcnce of the NEWS I WASHINGTON D C June isth 1897 I J 1 IS Majesty King Chuialon + I i > kOln Is nolV in Europe AudI Aud-I s r a Is expected to cross the AI I i Islamic In his royal yacht to 1 J ei Jjmakc a lilt to the Unite li I 8 r t + 1 d States Cliuhtonjkom Is 1 W a the King of Sum He I U the richest ruler of the world with per hap t ii r the exception of the czar and he has h more power over his subjects than any t f monarch outside the patty tyrants 01 I savag Africa I heard much ol him during F dur-ing my slay in Slam n few years ago I t His majesty sins away from hs capital I ij at the time ol my visit lie had gone I I I it i I p up the River Menses in one of his royal 7y t I houseboats with about thirty of his wives and was not expected back for y It t j 1 weeks I met however et themes closest Ito I-to him I hid letters from our cabinet < r i ministers at Washington to the leading < Siamese officials and was given an inside I In-side view of matters connected with his majesty and his government i k n GOSSIP ABOUT THK KINO His majesty is called Chulalongkorn for short His real tide is Prabat Son det Ira Pramend Maha Clmlalongkorn s Kate Klow ChowyuHui He is I the ninth child of Miha Mongkut who was the last king Maha Mongkut had eightyfour children and of these Chula longkorn was chosen to be placed upon the Siamese throne He thirtyfour I 4 hall brother And fortyolne halt sisters and he liked one of his hall sisters so t well that he hal married her and she is I I now the queen The king is fortjfour 1 years old lie is i about 5 feet 4 inches high has a plump olivebrown lace beautiful eyes of a liquid black a broad high rather lull forel ad and short straight black hair His nose is I short and hall flat his lips are rather thick i and his upper lip Is decorated with a a J silky black mustache He dresses in I clothes which might past well for those f1 ofabic > cler In the place of pantaloons panta-loons he wears a wide strip ol black s I i silk or surong which Siamese gentlemen i L J 1 ° > i try gentle-men wrap around their waists ami pull l Vs 1 I i i between their leg so that It forms a 0 wt i pairs loose knee breeches He wears long silk stocking and low shoes while E the upper part of his body is clad in a military coat His majesty sometimes I if J I J Y wears a helmet At other times he sports a derby hat and it is I only upui state occasions at his home that he puts C on one of his enormous crown He has several such crowns in his palace These cexons are pyramulsof i jewels j I set In gold rising In clicular tiers and endIng end-Ing in a long point like that ol a pencil 18 or 20 incnes above the head of the wearer f I HE HAS MONEY TO BURN 1 a The king I is practically the owner of Siam lie has one of the richest countries coun-tries of Asia It is I bigger than Germany and richer than Egypt Tnere i il Is no land anywhere which I fti produce < mote valuable rice Us mighty forests I are lull of teak wood and IIi 4I II-i I mines contain gold silver and precaus stones The king lias hundreds of elephants ele-phants some of Inch are worth f i ocxj i apiece out 1 his income is said to amount r i gl s j to more than ociaacoo a year 1 was told in Bangkok I that tie had between 1 JJOCODCOJ and 40000000 stored up r lur a rainy day and that he could increase r in-crease his revenues at will It is the kirg who decides what the taxes are to I be gJ taxes vs hat I he pleases and 1 whom I I I he pleads He get his money from alls all-s i sorts of sources horn gambling to jarm tog und the taxes upan OOOle classes 01 peopie I are so heavy that Siamese men i have otten f to ila their wives and clu lien as debt slaves to enable them to E foot the bills I I caw men in chains i s working on the road under this shadow L ol the I palace wall I and I was told that i ulr the kings laws nonesuch that all of his y subjects have to work a part of each I year without pay for him lie has you I know about 100000000 people in his I kingdom The kings power Is i nts lute By word he can deprive a man i j I ol his properly throw him into chains il or put hum to death l He owns not only heP mm but the women as will Sl he I has the tight to take into his harem any I maiden that attracts his fancy A VISIT TO TilE PALACE I The king has acre of palaces In the H eater of the big city Jdj Bangkok there A G a little city i surrounded by n big wall r I which contains the quarters ol his I majesty and thoe ol ins servants and his i harem The latter Is I shown to no neon but twos able to go through some of The finest buildings of the palace roper Passing the sodlers at the gate fos r nr71 ji1 walked for perhaps a quarter of a mile by one building I alter another until 1 III II 1 came to an Immense structure which in the distance looked like marble As I drew closer 1 saw that I the marble I < was r j stucco and that the building was made t ot back or stone covered with plaster It was however very impos nj It covered + s cov-ered a vast area 01 ground and rose to 1 the heght of three tall stories before the l high ringed rcof began It had many j steeples und towers and the wide stairways stair-ways which Id to the front door were guarded by immense elephants ol some metal plated with gold Passing by the j golden c ephints 1 went up the sops I und entered tre rings council chamber lie has here a throne which look lor all the world like a bed and upon It I i s I 4S was told that his majesty us a rule sit i i with his legs crossed like n Turk while 1 < i s he melted his cabinet ministers and l i f discussed matter reUt as to Ins king 1 4 dom learned 1 that the chief work of the palace was done at right under the t s east ot l the electric hiht and that the I o5 y r Y king and the cabinet ministers did a 4 i i ye k large part ol peeping In the day time f i t Dn the opposite side ol the hall 1 saw t g iR in other larie room t alt TW swat the king tweption room q for foreigners It Is gorgeously fur > shed rod contains rare vases nix Drsdn beautiful carvings from Japan and China and some wonderful gold work from the jewelers ol Slim There were elephants tusks beautifully polished pol-ished standing here and there in the corners and oil paintings looked down from the walls The next room into which I was taken was the most wonderful won-derful I had ever seen It was Ihe mi one room where upon great sta e oc e shuns the king receives ministers of tale The room covers a vast extent tI i s ceiling being at least fifty feet from Ie I floor It Is longer than the east room at the White lluute and as wide is a theater At the back there Is a rostrum ros-trum upon which the king sits nt such lime son a golden char under royal umbrellas upneld by servants Around the room running along the wall and extend nz some distance out fiom the ends there is a cry thicket ot golden trees < and buhes These little trees have their trunks and branches I plated with gold The leaves are ol solid gold as arc also the smaller twigs They are made by the cunning gold workers of the different provinces and ire tent by the governor and subordinate official In different parts of the kingdom as resins to his majesty On one side of time room I saw a number of silver tree mong the gold ones and it seemed to r e1Iilt me that lime amount of 1 met il required to make tom must have ben worth n fortune TilE QUEEN AND THE HAREM It Is according 10 law for the king to take one of his hall sisters a wile and to make her his queen This keeps the royal family comparatively pure as only hr sn can ascend tJ the tllone I he present queen he l am told about fifteen years youngerthan the king She Ii said to knavery progressive woman and to help him considerably In the manage mtntol his government She directs ins household establ shment and rules the harem Her majesty Is I a fair type of the bestlooking Siamese maiden She Ins a light brown complexion oily black heir winch Is i cut short and which con Lists 01 block bristles like those of ahead shoe brush etsnding out all over her head Her insly smokes cigarettes as do all the ladies ef her 1 harem and she Is I very fond of chewing the betel nut Betel nut chewing is common among all classes bum This nut is the green nut ol the Areca palm In some respicts it makes you think ol a green wainul It Is cut into little pieces and mixed with tobacco and pink colored col-ored lime the mixture forming the cud which biamtse lashes chew with more gusto than any of our American girls chew wax Be el chewing U far mere discus ing ban wax chewing As ICt the lair betel chewers masticate their toothsome cud ItS juice colors the saliva red an 1 their mouths seem to be filled with band Their teeth become as black as jet and heir lips are turned dark brown Black teeth in Siam are a sign of beauty The people I have a raying hat any dog can lave white i teeth i but it is only those hare h-are rich enough to nftord the betel nut who can hive beautiful black ones Not only the queen but also ell the ladies ot the harem chew I visited a large store right near ihe I rises which lur their ushes tne ladies much ol their finery their sweetmeats and their articles of toilet Among other things which are told arc betel splloans These aru little cups about t e Ize of a shaving snug livery one ol the king wives has one or to and each lady keeps one ali ways al-i by her side lifting it to her lips from time to time and squirting out into It her surplus saliva Every lady 1 of the harem has also her betel box This is I for the materials of chewing Some of the boxes aru of silver and those of the king and l queen are set with jewes During my stay In the kinjs store I asked some questions as lo the fashions fleeted by use queen and the other ol la i lies of the harem I was told that the fan orite costume of the kings wives is the surong or waist cloth tailing to the I knees and a jacket of silk I Paw many of the jackets in this store They were lonely made and were decorated with I ribbons and Swiss embroidery The I man told me thai most of the women referred to go barefooted and that f 3d Ph f moat of them wore anklets o sold The i king keeps between one and Uo hundred hun-dred ladies In his harem They are selected se-lected from the best families of the country coun-try and I was told tint tho nobles ol the court were anxious to have their daughters daugh-ters taken up by the king as through them they were able to secure lat jobs and ollidal fuor I The rules governing lickings household establishment are very rigid No woman call go outside 01 t the palace without his permission and her days of royal favor are usually short Alter the age of twentyfive ll a woman has not had children she be omes one ol the waiting maids ol the younger wiies new girls being brought In every year The list king had l > ann an-n larger harem than the present one Its wives came from China ind India as vel as Sum and he wt anxious Its it-s aid to add some wellbred English girls to his gallery ol beauties MODERN PROGRESS IN SIAM With so many wives you would think the king would bs able to do little outside out-side his omen family He doe a great del He has a cabinet of twelve members mem-bers and many subordinate officials although al-though he settles the most important natters himself Not a dollar can go out ol nil treasury without his signature While I was in lungkok n young Amen ican who had been teaching the kings children wanted his salary The treasury treas-ury officials knew that It was due but it could not be paid until hit m ijeily came back Irom his trip into 1 the interior Chulalonkorn U the most progressive monarch Slam has eter had He has take up with foreign was And has to n certain extent modernized Siam The country is i a member 01 the loternational Poiial Union I saw the pcsimtn delivering deliv-ering letters and I was able to register mail which 1 sent to America Toro is now an electric railroad in Bangkok and within ttir past fw > ears several steam ral roads have urea constructed A rumber of new vr toads have been surveyed sur-veyed aid there Is i one being built rom Bangkok to Koran about 165 miles Into the interior Connection will 1 eventually be made with Burmab and at no distant date we shall bo able lo travel throughout through-out Farther In ilia by rail At present a large part of the Interior transportation hallo be done upon elephants the only beasts whlrh are able to make their way through the thick jungle I Ihe king WE dIH ntl Iyogi eit tease t speaks English fluently and reads It with ease II is not etiquette however r I r him to use anything else than his own anguage during his audience and lor his reason he will have on interpreter during his naves in this country Till LAND OP THE WHITE ELEPHANT The elephant Is I the roal beast of Siam You see elephant pic uies on all he finis i The old coins de an elephant ele-phant printed on them and the whitr cplant in fact forms wha you would call the court of arnis of 1 the king The Siamese are Buddhists They believe 101 I Ihe transmigration of souls They liink that the souls ol heir heroes or gila est men go Into eltplnnts anJ ol the very greatest Into tile wh to cO I harts It w s for th10 reason that while lephai ts were worshiped in times past Today the king keeps a number ot while elephants in his palace s ab es I asked to be shown these brash during my vii to Ihe palace 1 cxp cted to find Ihe nnima s uecornttd with gold and purple and fastened with go den rhalns I wn shown something fir different The stables were dirty w < o < len sheds and the elephants were tied with rough ropes to wo > den post The keeprs In charge ol trum were dirty and there was 110 ilgn of royalty about them The elephants themselves looked freckled They were not pure white by any mean and I have since learn d that the white elephant is n diseased elephant His whiteness is I more like that of leprosy than naiure and he is I the Ugliest blast of the elephant kind WIIERE TilE KING WORSHIPS I spent some time in the wonderful BJ ha lucMUits I temples I of Bangkok These was one right next to the palace ol the king in which i Ins majeity daily wor hips during his stay in Ins capital r Toms temple has a spire hundreds of feet high relngr made of coil i after coil of masonry plated I with gold There i I was told more Inn f 100 oco worth ol gold upon it It has ooors of ebony inlaid with mother of pcaeh and it Is lighted with candles 01 ill sizes some as biz around as your finger o hets of the Tzr of your waist these candles are in candles icks plated tith gold They will l burn for f weeks and their flickering flames an supposed to dispose of a multitude of sits In This temple there is one room the floor ol which is I covered with a carpet ol woven silver wire Its chief idol is the lamed emerald god This god is about a foot high It Is I made ol pure gold mixed with jewels It is set with diamonds topazes sap ihircs and rubies and It represents a vast amount of money Toe idol is Joero placed high up above the floor of the trample almost under the roof It Is sough so-ugh 1I that ti Is ul hard to appreciate its value but so holy that I the king bows bcloie it every morning i end the I hundred hun-dred ladies i of tho harem come m now and then and bending their naked knees upon the cold floor pray lo it > am has hundreds of other temples They are by all odds the finest buildings In Bangkok The contribu Ions to them and the pilests do much to keep Ihe people nor There it no city ol the world teat has so many Buddhist priests I us Bangkok Siam is the home ol Dudllihm and Bangkok is i the central station for its worship Tneic are 35000 Buddhst priests In the city These arc ot all ages from sixteen lo clghtv and the religion is such that am nun can be priest if he chooses Every Siarcse man Is expected to become a priest lora lor-a certain part of his life acd King Chu lalongkorn has I am told served two terms in the priesthood This being a priest changes a mans relations to Ins hollows for the lime lIe is then considered con-sidered holy to his family as well as to others 1 saw mothers bo ing down to their boys sons who were acting as chests The priests shave their heads Thy go about with nothing but yellow strips of cloth wound around them relying rely-ing upon the gifts of the people I for mood They pl liavo certain times m the morning and 1 evening during which they go iron house to house lor rice The people bring out the rice In pots ready cooked When this priests come along they drop on their knees and holding their hands as though praying they ask the puts to accept I heir till I was told that the priests never make direct requests for a mi and that the oftencgs to a large extent are voluntary Cf |
