"'It is said that his majesty has fifteen children. Four of these are Somdetch Chowfas. Only one of these Somdetch Chowfas is a son.
"'The Somdetch Chowfas are the children of the king, and their mothers are princesses. The son, consequently, who is the eldest Chow-fa of the present king is by law and the customs of the country the heir-apparent to the throne.
"'When the So-Kan ceremonies take place they must be of the most imposing kind. In the present instance they were continued six days, and on each day there was an imposing procession.
"'The sound of music announced the approach of the procession.
FEMALE HEAD-DRESS AND COSTUME.
"'Soon a company of seemingly masked men, representing Japanese warriors, made their appearance. Then came companies of Siamese military and their band. Then followed companies of Siamese women dressed after the manner of the country, with the right arm and the shoulder bare; and then companies of men and boys and women dressed to represent the contiguous nationalities—Malays, Peguans, Burmans, Laos, Karens, etc. The groups as they passed were quite grotesque.
"'His majesty the king ascended to a prominent hall near the Maha Prasaht,[2] which was handsomely furnished. In front of him, to his right, were a group of pretty and richly-dressed ladies, holding in their hands a small silver tree. They went through the slow motions of a Siamese dance. Groups of Siamese ladies were seated in a line, with the new palace forming one side of a parallelogram. These were spectators, and evidently persons of rank. On the left of his majesty, forming the second long side of the parallelogram, were crowds of Europeans and other foreigners who had been invited to the performance.
"'The side wall enclosing the Maha Prasaht, on an elevated part of which was the hall in which his majesty sat, formed the west side of the parallelogram. Directly in front of the king was the artificial Trailaht, seemingly a mountain of gold, and forming the east side of the parallelogram.