"After lunch you will visit the city of Bangkok, and spend the afternoon there; for you ought to see the place, as you are here," said Captain Ringgold. "It is a large city."
"How large is it, Captain?" asked Louis.
"That is more than anybody in Siam, or anywhere else, can tell you. In these Oriental countries, when they count the people, they do not include the females in the enumeration1, so that we get but half an idea of the whole number. Chambers2 puts it at 300,000; the 'Year Book' does not give it at all; Bradshaw puts it down at 500,000; Lippincott the same. Probably the larger number is the nearer correct, and the authorities quoted are issued the present year."[173]
"I see no end of Chinamen flitting about the river," said Scott.
"They compose about one-half of the population of the city; and most of the trade of the place is in their hands, as you have found it to be, though to a less degree, in other cities you have visited in the East. The Celestials3 are taxed three dollars when they come into Siam, and pay the same amount every three years. But there is the lunch-bell. If you have no objection, Professor Giroud will go on shore with you."
"I should be delighted to have his company," replied Louis; and the others said the same thing.
The conversation at the table related more to Borneo than to anything else, and the Nimrods had all the questions they could answer put to them; and some of the ladies wished they had remained there a few days.
"If I had supposed the Nimrods would stay there only a week, I should have been quite willing to remain at Sarawak that time," added the commander.
"We fixed4 the time at three weeks because we thought it would take you all of that time to see Siam and Cambodia, and get back to Sarawak," replied Scott.
"I think it would have been delightful5 to sail on those rivers, and see the uncivilized people of the island," added Mrs. Belgrave. "But I suppose we should have been in the way of the hunters."
"Not at all, madam," answered Scott. "We had[174] a sampan, in which we could have done our hunting, while you were examining the long-houses and the head-houses. I don't know but that we should have wished to remain the whole three weeks if the ladies had been with us."
"Gallant6 Captain Scott!" exclaimed the lady.
"We did not go up the Rajang River as we intended, and we should have done that if you had been with us. I am very sure the Dyak ladies would have been delighted to see you, more than you would have been to see them," replied Scott.
"The steam-yacht must have been very delightful on the rivers and lakes; but the crocodiles, the snakes, and the savage7 orang-outangs would not have been pleasant to us."
"But with eleven Winchester repeating-rifles ready for use, you would have had nothing to fear."
Captain Ringgold rose from the table; and this terminated the conversation, and the party went on deck.
"Captain Ringgold said you had offered to go on shore with us, Professor Giroud," said Louis, as he joined the instructor8. "We shall be delighted with your company."
"Thank you, Mr. Belgrave. I have been on shore every day, with or without the party, and have learned something about Bangkok. I may be of service to you," replied the professor.
"I am sure you will," said Scott.
The first cutter was in the water when they[175] reached the gangway, with the crew in their places. They went on board, and the bowman shoved off. Stoody, the coxswain, gave the orders, and the boat was immediately under way. She was steered9 towards the shore till she came abreast10 of the various craft moored11 there, and then headed up the river.
"Where are you going, Stoody?" asked Scott.
"Captain Ringgold told me to take the party up the river, to show them the boats and houses," replied the coxswain.
"That is a good idea, Mr. Scott," added the professor.
"The houses here are all afloat," said Morris. "They are three or four deep."
"Everybody is not allowed to build his house on shore; for that is a royal privilege, doled12 out to a few of the highest nobility," said the professor. "I suppose there is not room enough in the city for much besides the palaces and the temples, but beyond its limits we shall find plenty of land-houses."
"But I should think these floating houses would be smashed to pieces in a heavy blow; and I see there are plenty of steamers and tugboats in the river, which might bump against them," Morris objected.
"You see that the middle of the river is kept open, though it is very crooked13; and these things regulate themselves."
"These houses are no better than card-boxes.[176] They seem to be built of bamboos, with wicker-work and plants. Each of them has a veranda14 in front, which is a nice place to sit and read, with a kind of ell at each end. I think I should like to live in one of them for a week or two," continued Morris.
"You would not like it," said Achang, who had come with them to act as interpreter.
"This is a walled town, with six miles of fortifications around it."
"A little less than two miles across it; and we shall not have to take any very long walks, for I have read that carriages are seldom seen except among the palaces, and probably belong to the nobility," said Louis; "but we are good for six miles this afternoon."
"The river is the great thoroughfare for business and for pleasure. It is covered with boats of all sorts and kinds. The walls of the city are from fifteen to thirty feet high, and twelve feet thick; but I suppose the heavy guns of modern times could knock them down in a very short time," added the professor.
"What is that opening into the river?" asked Felix, who had kept his tongue very quiet so far.
"That is a canal," replied Achang, as the professor did not reply. "I have been here three times, and once I went up that canal. There are only a few good streets in the city, and inside business is carried on by the canals."[177]
"As Paris is to France, and Paris is France, so Bangkok is Siam; and that is the reason why the commander goes no farther. Now we have come to the wall, and you can see the outside town."
"The houses here are all on stilts15, as in Sumatra and Borneo," observed Scott. "Some of them are built over the water."
"It is said here that the city suffered terribly from the ravages16 of cholera17; and when the king found out that the disease was caused by the bad drainage of the houses, he ordered his people to build on the river, where the drainage would dispose of itself," said Professor Giroud. "This story was told me by a Frenchman here, but I cannot vouch18 for the truth of the statement."
"Can you tell me, Achang, why they build their houses on piles in this country?" asked Morris.
"Because they have waterations here."
"Have what?" demanded the questioner, while all the party laughed except the Bornean. "I never heard of waterations before."
"When the water rise up high," Achang explained.
"Inundations, you mean."
"Yes; thunderations," added Achang.
"Inundations!" roared the Bornean's preceptor.
"That's what I say; and that's the first reason. The second is that there are many snakes"—
"Then, it's the place for me!" exclaimed Felix.
"Many snakes and wild beasts; the stilts help to keep them out of the house."[178]
"But most snakes can climb trees," Scott objected.
"Fixed so that snake can't get off the post into house," the Bornean explained.
"The little corn-houses in New England and other places are protected in the same way from rats. Four posts are set up for it to rest on, with a flat stone, or sometimes a large tin pan turned upside down, placed on the post. When the building is erected19 with the corners on the large, flat stone or the pans, rats or other rodents20 cannot get over these obstructions21, and the corn is safe from them," continued Louis, illustrating22 his subject with a pencil for the post, and his hand for the stone or the pan.
Scott, who was an officer of the ship, ordered Stoody to take the party to the landing nearest to the Temple of Wat Chang, as the professor requested.
"The religion of Siam, like that of Burma, is Buddhist23, in whose honor most of the temples whose spires24 you can see are erected," said the professor, as he pointed26 to several of them.
"We don't care to see them in detail, even if we had the time," suggested Louis. "I know they are magnificent pieces of architecture, and wonderful to behold27; but we have had about enough of that sort of thing."
The party landed, and walked to the temple. It looked like an exaggerated bell, the spire25 being the handle, and the lower portion looking like an enormous flight of circular stairs for the roof. It was[179] over two hundred feet high. Attached to it in the rear was a structure with a pitched roof. They bought photographs of it at the stand of a native who spoke28 a little French. At this point Achang procured29 a guide who spoke French, and he conducted them to the Temple of the Sleeping Idol30.
"It is not much of a temple compared with the one we have just visited," said the professor. "We must go into it."
They entered, conducted by the guide. The building looked like three pitched-roof structures set together, the middle one into the largest at the bottom, and the smallest into the middle one. It contains an enormous figure of Buddha31, one hundred and sixty feet long, which about fills the interior of the temple. It is constructed of brick, plastered and then gilded32, so that it looks like a golden statue in a reclining posture33. The feet are sixteen feet long, and the arms six feet in diameter.
The party looked in at another temple, which contains a brass34 statue of Buddha fifty feet high, with other smaller statues, and a variety of objects that were unintelligible35 to the visitors. Various other temples were examined hastily on the way to the royal palace, but they were only a repetition of what they had often seen before.
The palace was a magnificent building, or series of buildings, for a half-civilized country. The tourists were permitted to enter at the gate, though the guide was excluded. They saw a squad36 of the royal[180] guards who were drilling on the pavement, and they regarded them with great interest. They wore a Zouave uniform, though with a short frock-coat buttoned to the chin, with round caps in cylindrical37 form, and visors. They were armed with muskets38, and commanded by native officers.
"This palace is a big thing," said the professor, "and is a mile in circumference39, surrounded by walls."
It contained, besides the palace of the king, the public offices, temples, a theatre, barracks for several thousand soldiers, and apartments for three thousand women, six hundred of whom are the wives of the king. But what interested them more than most of the sights was the famous white elephant. He is said to be of equal rank with the king, and is treated with all possible deference40 and respect. He has a palatial41 stable; and being a king, he lives like one. His servants and attendants are all priests. But he is not a pleasant sprig of royalty42, and the visitors were warned not to go too near him.
But it was time to return to the ship, and they found the boat in the canal which Achang had indicated. At dinner the conversation was concerning the city, and the party mentioned many things the Nimrods had not seen. On Tuesday morning the ship sailed on her voyage to Saigon.
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1
enumeration
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| n.计数，列举；细目；详表；点查 | |
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2
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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3
celestials
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| n.天的，天空的( celestial的名词复数 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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6
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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12
doled
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| 救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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14
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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15
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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16
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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vouch
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| v.担保；断定；n.被担保者 | |
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19
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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rodents
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| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
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obstructions
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| n.障碍物( obstruction的名词复数 )；阻碍物；阻碍；阻挠 | |
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illustrating
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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Buddhist
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| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
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24
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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spire
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| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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27
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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29
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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31
Buddha
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| n.佛；佛像；佛陀 | |
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32
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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34
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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35
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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36
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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cylindrical
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| adj.圆筒形的 | |
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muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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40
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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41
palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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42
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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