their bearers and
jump with agile dexterity into their boats, as if it were a relief to
them to lay aside courtly etiquette and act like ordinary mortals.
The royal palanquins are completely covered with plates of pure gold
inlaid with pearls, and the cushions are of velvet embroidered, and
edged with heavy gold lace. They are borne by sixteen men robed in
azure silk sarangs and shirts of embroidered muslin. The umbrella is
of blue, crimson or purple silk, and for state occasions is richly
embroidered, and studded with precious stones. So also are those
placed over the throne, the sofa, or whatever seat the king happens to
occupy.

[Illustration: ELEPHANT ARMED FOR WAR.]

[Illustration: THE GREAT GILDED BOODDH.]

The late supreme king, who died in 1868 at the age of sixty-five, was
tall and slender in person, of intellectual countenance and noble,
commanding presence. His ordinary dress was of heavy, dark silk,
richly embroidered, with the occasional addition of a military coat.
He wore also the decorations of several orders, and a crown--not
the large one, which is worn but once in a lifetime, and that on the
coronation-day--but the one for regular use, which is of fine gold,
conical in shape and the rim completely surrounded by a circlet of
magnificent diamonds. This prince, the most illustrious of all
the kings of Siam, spent many of the best years of his life in the
priesthood as high priest of the kingdom. He was a profound scholar,
not only in Oriental lore, but in many European tongues and in the
sciences. In public he was rather reticent, but in the retirement of
the social circle and among his European friends the real symmetry
of his noble character was fully displayed, winning not only the
reverence but the warm affection of all who knew him. He died
universally regretted, and the young prince now reigning as supreme
king is his eldest surviving son: the second king is his nephew.

[Illustration: FUNERAL PILE FOR THE SECOND KING.]

Among the choice treasures of Siam are her elephants, but they belong
exclusively to the Crown, and may be employed only at the royal
command. They are used in state processions and in traveling by the
king and members of the royal family, and in war at the king's mandate
only. It is death for a Siamese subject, unbidden by his sovereign, to
mount one of His Majesty's elephants. In war they are considered
very effective, their immense size and weight alone rendering them
exc