"We mounted a stairway to the king's apartments; then we passed through a hall ornamented with busts and portraits of European sovereigns, living or dead, and then we entered a large saloon, where we found ourselves in the presence of the king.
"His majesty approached as we entered—exactly as a private gentleman might do in his own house when a visitor calls—and, after shaking hands with the consul, he paused for the latter to introduce me. As soon as I was introduced, he shook hands with me after the Occidental fashion, and invited us to seats near a table in the centre of the room. The sofa where he sat was at right angles to the position of our chairs, so that, by partially turning, he faced us both. At his left stood the interpreter, who translated the king's Siamese words into English, but rarely translated our own words into Siamese, as the king understands our language perfectly, and speaks it with very few mistakes. Ceremonious presentations are always conducted with the aid of an interpreter, and the king appears to understand only his own language; but when he wishes to have a free and confidential conversation with a foreign consul or other personage, he dismisses his interpreter, and talks away in English with perfect ease.
CHULALONKORN I., SUPREME KING OF SIAM.
"His majesty's voice is full, clear, and resonant, and he pronounces every word with the utmost care. As he talks, his face brightens; he gesticulates gracefully, and to a sufficient extent to make his conversation quite un-Oriental in character. His complexion is the true Siamese bronze; his cheek-bones are high, and the outlines of his face are decidedly handsome. His thick black hair is parted gracefully in the middle, and not cropped after the Siamese style; he has a slender mustache, which evinces careful training, and gives promise of future greatness. He wore at the ceremonial the Siamese trousers, with white stockings, and he had on his feet shoes of patent-leather, if I observed them correctly. His upper garment was a sack of military cut, and made of white linen; it terminated with a sort of upright collar, and was closely buttoned. The only ornament I noticed upon it was a row of three stars on each side of the throat.
"Like all other kings, his majesty is well provided with uniforms, and every ceremonial has a dress peculiarly adapted to it. His military uniform, when he appears at the head of his troops, is quite European in style, but his court-dress for state ceremonials adheres strictly to the Siamese model. It is richly embroidered and studded with jewels; the crown rises in the form of an elongated pyramid, with an aigrette of jewels, and the sandals are so thickly set with precious stones that there is very little of the foundation-work to be seen.
"His majesty asked how long I had been in Siam, and how I liked the country; wished to know if I had visited the temples of Bangkok, and what I thought of them; and made other inquiries touching my movements. When these questions had been answered, he spoke of the visit of the United States ships of war several months before, and expressed the wish to see more of our ships and more of our countrymen in Siam. He asked when we would have American steamers running between Bangkok and Hong-kong to connect with the Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental lines, and said he hoped for a rapid increase of commerce between Siam and the United States. Evidently he is sincerely desirous of intimate commercial relations with us, as he said there were many articles of American manufacture which they wished to be supplied with; while we, on the other hand, would doubtless be willing to purchase rice at a lower price than we were now paying.
"Tea and cigars were served while we were engaged on these topics, which occupied a period of ten or fifteen minutes. Then the conversation took a miscellaneous turn; and he dwelt upon the peculiarities of the different languages that are spoken in his dominions: it seems that his majesty is well versed in the various dialects and distinct languages, and he is like the Emperor of Austria, as he can converse with all his subjects in their own tongue. Then he talked with the consul about some matter that the latter had brought before him at a previous interview; and after that there was a convenient pause, in which we rose and made our adieux. The king followed us to the door of the room, and, before shaking hands in farewell, he invited the consul and myself to dine with him the following evening. Of course we accepted without a moment's hesitation, and then made our way out as we had entered. The whole affair from beginning to end was quite free from stiffness or severity, and proved the king to be, as he is represented, a most accomplished gentleman."
Sixty years ago a presentation to the King of Siam was a much more ceremonious affair than the one here recorded, and it required a great deal of study and rehearsal on the part of all concerned. Mr. Crawfurd, who came to Siam in 1822 at the head of an embassy from the Governor-general of India, gives the following account of his presentation: