The Siamese aro physically superior to tho natives of the Indian Archipelago, if we except those of Bali ; indeed, the Balinese and Siamese bear a striking resemblance to each other. The hue of their skin 18 shade darker than that of the Chinese, but they have fairer complexions than the Malays and Javanese. The dress of both males and fetnales consists of a cloth wrapped round the waist, ono end being brought between the legs and fastened behind, which gives this portion of their attire the appearance of a pair of trousers. The women, in addition, wear a cloth wrapped round the body, under the arms. Both men and women shave their heads, with the exception of a small round patch which is left between the crown and the forehead. This being brushed up, is made to stand on end. The number of the talapoins or priests is enormously disproportioned to the rest of the inhabitants. In I3ankok alone their numbers exceed 30,000.
There have been four dynasties of kings. The first dynasty had a succession of 21 kings, whose united reigns extended over a period of 252 years, from A.D. 1351 to 1603. The next dynasty had 3 sovereigns, who reigned 28 years. The third dynasty began by the Siamese nobles putting a.side a minor 9 years old, and setting up the prime minister as king, who began to reign in A.D. 1633, and occupied the throne for 26 years. This dynasty had 9 kings, who were in power 136 years, when the Burmese sacked the capital in A.D. 1767, and carried away many captives. The chief of the Siamese army rallied the Siamese under him at Tonta Buri, which is now the site of a palace. The ancestor of the present dynasty was a Siamese general of great celebrity, who took the throne A.D. 1782, and reigned for 27 years.
The kings of Siam, from the time the old city Ayuthia was built, Chola era 712 = A.D. 1351, furnished by P'ra Alak, the chief of the king's scribes, and doubtless with the ap probation dills majesty ; designed by him, it is supposed, to correetthe list of the kings pub lished in the calendar for 1860. That within the brackets does not belong to P'ra Alak— The Siamese head may be considered as a remarkable modification of the Burma-Chinese head, with a peculiar tendency to elongation and verticality. They have large straight faces, flat .occiputs, lowness of the hairy scalp, comparatively small and firm mouth, hard staxing eye, and a grave expression.
The Siamese are gentle, cheerful, timid, care less, and almost passionless. They are disposed
to idleness, inconstancy, aud exaction ; they are liberal almsgivers, severe in enforcing decorum in the relations between the sexes. They are fond of sports, and lose half their time in amusements. 'They are sharp and even witty in conversation, and resemble the Chinese in their aptitude for imitation. There is a passion for jewellery and ornaments of the precious metals, stones, etc. It is said there is scarcely a family so poor as to be without some valuable possessions of this sort. Rings of silver and gold adorn the arms and the legs of children ; rich necklaces, ear-rings, and belts are sometimes seen in such profusion as ,quite to embarrass the wearer. Female children, up to the age of 12 or 13, wear a gold or silver string with a heart in the centre, performing the part often assigned to the fig-leaf in exhibitions of statues. To the necks of children, a tablet, called a bai soma, is generally suspended, bearing an inscription, as a charm against rnischief ; and men have a metallic ball attached to a belt, to 7hich they attribute the virtue of rendering them invulnerable. A necklace, consisting of seven lumps of gold or silver, is worn by girls as a „protecting influence ; the panung is one of the garments worn by the Siamese, called by the Portuguese panks.
Between the Buddhists of Siam and Ceylon there has been much intercourse ; and during the efforts made by the Buddhist monks of Ceylon in the defence of their religion and in their attacks on Christianity and on Jehovah, the king of Siam and one of the native chiefs of Kandy contributed largely towards the publication of the numerous tracts, pamphlets, and serials that were sent forth from the Buddhist printing presses of Ceylon.
Pali is the sacred literature of the Siamese, and if3 called Pali, Bali, and Pasa Makata (Bhasha Magadha), the language of Magadha. The alpha bets of the T'hai or Siamese, of the Burmese, and of the Mon of Pegu, are of Indian origin. No dialect of the T'hai is intelligible to a Burmese. The alphabets also differ, but, on the whole, the essentials of their civilisation is the same, the chief difference being in the language. The Laos alphabet slightly differs from that of the Siamese proper, but, practically speaking, the language is spoken with remarkable uniformity over the whole T'hai area and Siamese proper ; the Laos, the Shan dialects, and Khamti are one.