Life in a Palace; or, Glimpses of Royalty [pp. 449-460]

Life in a Palace; or, Glimpses of Royalty.
king in one scarcely less magnificent,
called Wang Nah, (Front Palace,) which
stands also within the walls, some distance north of the Palace Royal.
The second king, like his brother, has
one son, a noble, promising youth, now
about sixteen years of age. He bears
the name of Prince George Washington,
and has no Siamese name, though several
royal titles. He was named in honour of
the Father of our Country, for whose
character His Majesty entertains the
most profound veneration, and with whose
history the young Prince has been made
familiar from his childhood. Prince
George usually wears the European costume, and speaks English with almost
the fluency of an Anglo-Saxon; whilst
the propriety and graceful ease that characterize his compositions in our language,
would put to shame the essays of many
of our college graduates.
With two such reigning Sovereigns,
each possessing in the person of his heir
so worthy and noble a representative of
the talents and virtues of his illustrious
parent, what may we not hope for the
future of this rich and populous Empire?
Shall we not expect that merging from
the cloud of darkness in which oppression and injustice have so long obscured
her brightness, she will now rise to her
legitimate place among civilized and enlightened nations; and throwing wide
the gates of her ports, that she will, by
by the exercise of a liberal and enlightened policy, invite to her hospitable
shores a comnmrerce that shall prove not
less a blessing to herself than to her
sister states, and our world at large.
The card is a fine French embossed
one, with a neat silver border, scalloped
and radiated in silver. It is handsomely
engraved in English, with the words,
Somdet Phra Paramendr Maha Mongkut,
the translation of which I have already
given in the former part of this article.
You observe that he omits the latter part
of his title, Phra Chore Klau, Chau Yu
Hua, which signifies " Lord of Life, and
Supreme over all"-a significant circum-'
stance which confirms what I have already stated concerning'his modesty and
sound sense.
On the reverse of the card is written
in the King's own hand,
"With respectful compliments,
To Reverend Mrs. Fannie-."
This matter of titles is one t hat is e xceedingly puzzling to an Oriental, whose
fondness for forms and ceremonies will
never allow him to omit them; and yet
his ignorance of their meaning leads to
perpetual misapplication. The king, as
customary with Eastern monarchs on all
occasions, uses his own title as the superscription of his letter, which is signed,
"Your old, good friend,
" SOMDET PHRA PARAMENDR MAHA MONG KOK,
"Major King of Siam and its Dependen cies, &c., &c., &c."
MR. EDITOR:
I had just concluded this article and
laid it on my table ready for mnailing,
when this morning's post brought me an
autograph letter from my old and attached
friend, His Majesty, the first King of
Siam, bearing the grand privy seal of
state, and enclosing His Majesty's private
card, which being used only in his intercourse with personal friends, of course
the recipient feels highly honoured by
such a distinguishing mark of condescension.
1859.1
459
(My name in full.)
The letter, also written in Englisb,'is
dated,
"Royal Residence, Grand Palace of Siam,
Jan'y 24th, 1859." _
and commences,
11 Mrs. Fannie -, Esq.,
11 My dear friend," &c., &c., &c.
Under these circumstances, his own
.nice sense of propriety and the respect he
wished to show for me -as a personal
friend, would not permit him to address
me without,t title of some sort; and be
thus resorts to the Reverend and Esquire,
the former as a clerical title, the latter as
a civil one; and both he supposes to belong not less to the ladies than to their
husbands or fathers, lie has natarally