ng the
only independent Asiatic nation whose troops served on European soil)
the king abolished the white elephant upon a red ground which from time
immemorial had been the national standard, substituting for it a
nondescript affair of colored stripes which at first glance appears to
be a compromise between the flags of China and Montenegro. In doing
this, I think that the king made a mistake, for he deprived his country
of a distinctive emblem which was associated with Siam the whole world
over.

* * * * *

Fortune was kind to us in the Siamese capital, for we reached that city
on the eve of a series of royal cremations, the attendant ceremonies
providing enough action and color to satisfy even Hawkinson. It should
be explained that instead of cremating a body immediately, as might be
expected in so torrid a climate, the remains are placed in a large jar
and kept in a temple or in the house of the deceased for a period
determined by the rank of the dead man--the King for twelve months and
so downward. If the relatives are too poor to afford the expenses
incident to cremation, they bury the body, but exhume it for burning
when their financial condition permits. On the day of the cremation,
which is usually fixed by an astrologer, the remains are transferred
from the jar to a wooden coffin and carried with much pomp to the
_meru_, or place of cremation. When the deceased is of royal or noble
blood the _meru_ is frequently a magnificent structure, sometimes
costing many thousands of dollars, built for the purpose and torn down
when that purpose has been served. The coffin is placed on the pyre,
which is lighted by relatives, the occasion being considered one for
rejoicing rather than mourning. The royal _meru_, which had been
erected in a small park in the outskirts of the capital at a cost of
one hundred thousand ticals, was a really beautiful structure of true
Siamese architecture, elaborately decorated in scarlet and gold and
draped with hangings of the same colors. Within the _meru_ were three
pyres, concealed by gilt screens, on which were set the coffins
containing the bodies. As there were a number of bodies to be burned,
the ceremonies lasted upward of a week, King Rama going in state each
afternoon to the _meru_, where he took his place on a throne in an
elaborately decorated pavilion. After brief ceremonies by a large body
of yellow-robed Buddhist priests, the King set fire to th