"'There were artificial trees, with representations of animals—such as squirrels, monkeys, birds, and snakes—and their movements were quite life-like.
"'Each day the princess receives presents from the noble families. The ceremonies of each day were in some respects similar, but varied enough to interest the vast crowds that visit the palace. Abundant refreshments were provided by the government for the active participants and the leading spectators. The noble families from all parts of Siam were represented in the assemblage, and the display was the finest that the country has known for years.'
"This is what I find in the newspaper, and it seems to be a very good account. There are some things that it will be necessary for me to explain, so that you will get a good understanding of them. In the first place, I am told that the royal top-knot is taken off in a temple close to the artificial mountain on the first day of the ceremony. Doubtless they would cut it every day; but even in so fertile a country as Siam the hair does not grow fast enough to make a daily cutting feasible.
"After this ceremony the hair is allowed to grow in the shoe-brush style that I have described. Before that time it is in the shape of a twisted knot, about as large as a silver dollar, but when it takes its new form it covers the greater part of the top of the head.
"The Trailaht, or golden mountain, where the ceremony takes place, is not really constructed of gold, though it appears to be. It is made of wood and iron for a framework, and is then covered with sheets of lead that have been gilded. The machinery that moves the figures is concealed in the interior of the mountain, and the pathway that runs up the outside is made to look as much like nature as possible. There are valleys, and forests, and grottoes, and miniature rocks on the mountain, and the path is usually arranged so that it goes three times around between the bottom and the top. The Siamese pay great attention to the numbers '3' and '9;' they have pagodas and canopies of three stories, and others of nine; and in nearly all their religious ceremonies their movements are in threes and nines. The same is true of all countries where Buddhism is the religion; and, if you go as far off as Peking, you will find that the temples have triple terraces and triple roofs, while threes, or the multiples of three, may be found in the arrangement of the stones of the steps and pavements, and in the walls of the buildings.
LAKON GIRLS.
"Perhaps you did not understand what was meant by the lakon girls that danced before the king as soon as he was seated. In this country there are girls who are trained to dance, like geishas in Japan, and just as the girls of the ballet are trained in a theatre in Europe and America. Dancing is their profession, and they combine singing and acting with it; and some of the princes and great men have troops of these lakon girls to dance and sing for them. It is very common for them to invite their friends to an entertainment, and it generally consists of singing and dancing by these young ladies. Those around the palace are the prettiest that can be found in the kingdom, and they have wardrobes that cost a great deal of money, and are as grand as the wardrobes of any actress in America. Very often in their acting they wear the most hideous masks that can be imagined, and when they are dressed up to resemble men or demons you can hardly believe that they are really pretty girls. I send you a picture of two of them, so that you may know what they look like.