FOOTNOTES
[^] Goods are trans-shipped from these places, without government deriving any advantage.
[^] The legend of the Jos House, Hoe-chong-sze or Idol temple of Honam:—
Jos is a corruption of the Portuguese word Deos, God. Every idol temple is here called a Jos House; to worship any superior being is expressed by, to Chin-chen-Jos. This great temple was, originally, a garden, belonging to the family of Ko; about eight hundred years since, a small Budha temple was built and named, Tseen-tsow-sze, “the temple of ten thousand autumns.” It remained an obscure place till about the year 1600, when a priest of eminent devotion raised its character, and his disciple “Oh-tzze,” by his superior talents and sanctity, together with a concurrence of extraordinary circumstances, raised the temple to its present magnificence and extent. During the reign of Kang He, the second of the reigning Tartar dynasty, in the year 1700, Canton province was not fully subjugated; and the emperor’s son-in-law, entitled Ping-naw-wong, “the subjugator of the south,” reduced the whole to his father’s sway, and took up his headquarters in the Honam temple, according to the Tartar and Chinese usage. There were, on the island, thirteen villages which he had orders to exterminate. Previously to carrying into effect this order, the king, a blood-thirsty man, cast his eyes on Oh-tzze, a fat, happy, priest, and remarked, that were he to live on a vegetable diet, he could not be so fat—he must be a hypocrite, and should be punished with death. He drew his sword to put in effect the sentence; but the limb suddenly withered, and thus prevented its execution. That night a divine person appeared to him in a dream, and warned him that Oh-tzze was a holy man, and must not, unjustly, be killed. The following morning the king presented himself before Oh-tzze, confessed his crime, and immediately his arm was restored. He then did obeisance to the priest, took him for his preceptor and guide, and, morning and evening, waited on him as a servant. The thirteen villages heard of this miracle and solicited the priest to intercede in their behalf: he complied with their request, was successful, and the Honam villages were saved. Their gratitude to the priest was unbounded; and estates, incense, and money, were poured upon him. The king also persuaded his officers to make donations to the temple, and it became affluent from that day. A hall for the celestial kings was still wanting, and by seizing a fishpond belonging to a wealthy man who had refused to sell it, sufficient ground was obtained upon which to build it. The pond was filled up and built upon within the short space of thirty days. It is sometimes called the Lok-wa-sze, “the green temple.”
[^] Yet the prince, who assumes this latter title, is said to have received investiture from China, as a tributary king.
[^] This is an expression used by inferior officers, in corresponding with superiors, when referring to themselves.
[^] On the right bank of the river, which is called Bang-kok—the word Bang-kok is derived from ban, a house, and kok, a garden. Most of the fruit used at the old capital, came from this place.
[^] One of the sons of the wang-na watches at the temple, near the funeral pile, night and day, till the body is consumed; the ashes of the consumed body are then thrown into the river with many ceremonies; and the unconsumed bones are then delivered to the priests, and made into household gods.
[^] He speaks and writes the English language with considerable fluency, and his pronunciation is very correct.
[^] The present king is very desirous of encouraging foreign commerce to enter his ports, and the perplexities and endless changes which formerly annoyed them, are now removed. As long as the present king lives, this wise policy will be pursued. The amount of imports is rapidly rising in importance. A historiographer is regularly employed at the court of Siam, and the recorded events are deposited in the public archives.