147.—BURMESE NOBLE.
The Siamese are passionately fond of trinkets. Provided they glitter, it matters little whether they are real or false. They cover their women and their children with rings, bracelets, armlets, and bits of gold and silver. They wear them on their arms, on their legs, round their necks, in their ears, on their bodies, on their shoulders, everywhere they can place them. The king’s son is so covered with them, that the weight of his clothes and jewellery is heavier than that of his body.
The greatest conjugal harmony seems to prevail in Siamese families. The wife is not kept secluded as in China, but shows herself everywhere. As a shadow to this picture, we must add that parents have a right to sell their children as slaves.
148.—BURMESE LADY.
The Siamese have retained intact all the superstitions of the Hindoos and the Chinese. They believe in demons, in ogres, in mermaids, &c. They have faith in amulets, philtres, and in soothsayers. They support a king, a court, and a seraglio, with its numerous progeny. A second king possesses also his palace, his army, and his mandarins. Between these two kings and the people intervene twelve different ranks of princes, several classes of ministers, five or six of mandarins, and an endless series of governors and lieutenant-governors, all equally incapable and rapacious.