Edition June 1859 written by a traveller, p. 454: “In a few years he
[Chau-Fáa-Noi] had mastered the first, and made very considerable proficiency
in the last two he studied drawing, astronomy, mathematics, and navigation;
turned his attention to watch making, which he first mastered himself, and then
taught to several of his attendants; cast guns and cannons by his own unaided
skill; and finally, by dint of an untiring energy and perseverance such as the
world has seldom known, substituted for the miserable Chinese Junk of the
country square-rigged vessels, admirably built after the European model. He
first made an accurate drawing of an American barque that chanced to be lying
in the harbour, took the measurements of the various parts with his own hands,
and then without any aid whatever constructed a miniature model about four feet
in length, which, for its symmetrical proportions and exquisite workmanship,
would compare very favourably with the much-lauded models of William IV of
England, still preserved with such commendable pride in the Royal Polytechnic
Institution of London. His next step was to drill a picked band of his
servants, and in their presence to build a second model, which when finished,
he took to pieces, explaining as he went on, and duly instructing each man in
the construction of the part he was expected to undertake. In this manner, the
third model was completed, built entirely by his men, with only an occasional
hint from the Prince himself. A dock was then prepared, the necessary materials
collected, a foundry set up, and the Prince and his men set regularly to work
at ship building. In about four months a barque of three hundred and fifty tons
was completed, and launched under the style and title of the “Royal Adelaide”,
in honour of the Queen Dowager of England. Six months more saw the completion
of a ship, larger and better built than the barque, and named the “Sir Walter
Scott”. Various other ships, brigs, and schooners followed each other in quick
succession; and the example of the Prince soon incited others to emulation.
Phra-Nai-Wai, the son of the Prime Minister, built, in the space of about five
years, some six or eight large-sized teak ships, one of which, the “Victory”,
was two thousand tons burden, and really too large to be of much use in Siam in
consequence of the sand-bars at the mouth of the Meinam, forty miles below
Bangkok. It was inconvenient and expensive to
p. 456: “load her so far from the city, and absolutely impossible to get her over the bars when loaded, so that she was kept most of the time laid up in dock, and the Siamese nobles contented themselves thereafter with smaller ships, better suited to the navigation of their rivers.”
p. 458: “June 1859 written by a traveller. The younger brother of His Majesty is called the second king, and bears the title of Somdet Phra Pawarendr Kamesh maheswaresr Phra Pin Clau Clau Yu Hua. He holds his own separate court, and receives nearly the same homage as his elder brother; and the two act so entirely in concert, that the will of the one is regarded as sacred and absolute as the other, though if any issue should unhappily arise, the will of the first king would, of course, take precedence. The second king is commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the country, and it is his duty to repel invasions, order the appointments of the forts, levy troops, etc. Since he came into power he has enlarged the city walls, built several new forts and repaired the old ones, furnished grounds and buildings for the resident Consulates of six different nations, whose several flags may now be seen flattering in the breezes that sweep over the proud metropolis of Siam ; he has added largely to the navy of the country in splendid square-rigged, teak-built ships, and banished forever the clumsy, uncouth junks of former days; and last, but not least, he has introduced steam into his country, and brought it to bear efficiently on the agricultural and commercial interests of the nation. Printing presses, and steam presses for the manufacture of sugar, (the staple of Siam, and the finest in the world,) have been introduced, and ten noble steamers now regularly plow the waters of the noble Meinam, multiplying ten-fold the commerce of the country, and furnishing facilities for intercourse with the outside world that, ten years ago, no native-born Siamese had ever dreamed of. At the last dates from the country, five new steamers were in process of building, and two were employed as semi-monthly packets between Bangkok and Singapore.”
And in the edition August 1859, p. 153: “We are in receipt of a letter from a lady in New Hampshire, who resided for some years as a missionary in Siam, correcting some alleged errors in the article on “Life in a Palace,’" which appeared in the Messenger for June. Our correspondent complains that the article is calculated throughout to make a false impression on the mind of the reader, as undervaluing the influence exerted over the mind of the King Chau Fah Yai, and the direction given to his studies by the American Missionaries at Bangkok. Our correspondent refers to the Rev. Mr. Caswell, as one who devoted much time to the instruction of the King in the English language, and she encloses a letter from a friend, who was also several years in Siam as a missionary of the A. B. C. F. M., together with an autograph English note of the King himself, written more than ten years ago, which of course shows the statement in the concluding paragraph
p.154: “of the article- that five years ago the King knew not a syllable of the English language- to be incorrect. She adds, as a belief of her own, that Chau Fall Yai had procured a font of English type more than sixteen years ago, and her friend further states that the article is in error in attributing the honour of building the first square rigged vessels in Siam to Chau Fah Noi, since, upon the authority of Dr. Bradley in his Bangkok Calendar for 1859, it rightfully belongs to Phra Noi Wai.”
Source
James E. Heath. Southern literary messenger: devoted to very department of literature and the fine arts. Vol. 28 January-June 1859 and Vol. 29 August-December 1859.
p. 456: “load her so far from the city, and absolutely impossible to get her over the bars when loaded, so that she was kept most of the time laid up in dock, and the Siamese nobles contented themselves thereafter with smaller ships, better suited to the navigation of their rivers.”
p. 458: “June 1859 written by a traveller. The younger brother of His Majesty is called the second king, and bears the title of Somdet Phra Pawarendr Kamesh maheswaresr Phra Pin Clau Clau Yu Hua. He holds his own separate court, and receives nearly the same homage as his elder brother; and the two act so entirely in concert, that the will of the one is regarded as sacred and absolute as the other, though if any issue should unhappily arise, the will of the first king would, of course, take precedence. The second king is commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the country, and it is his duty to repel invasions, order the appointments of the forts, levy troops, etc. Since he came into power he has enlarged the city walls, built several new forts and repaired the old ones, furnished grounds and buildings for the resident Consulates of six different nations, whose several flags may now be seen flattering in the breezes that sweep over the proud metropolis of Siam ; he has added largely to the navy of the country in splendid square-rigged, teak-built ships, and banished forever the clumsy, uncouth junks of former days; and last, but not least, he has introduced steam into his country, and brought it to bear efficiently on the agricultural and commercial interests of the nation. Printing presses, and steam presses for the manufacture of sugar, (the staple of Siam, and the finest in the world,) have been introduced, and ten noble steamers now regularly plow the waters of the noble Meinam, multiplying ten-fold the commerce of the country, and furnishing facilities for intercourse with the outside world that, ten years ago, no native-born Siamese had ever dreamed of. At the last dates from the country, five new steamers were in process of building, and two were employed as semi-monthly packets between Bangkok and Singapore.”
And in the edition August 1859, p. 153: “We are in receipt of a letter from a lady in New Hampshire, who resided for some years as a missionary in Siam, correcting some alleged errors in the article on “Life in a Palace,’" which appeared in the Messenger for June. Our correspondent complains that the article is calculated throughout to make a false impression on the mind of the reader, as undervaluing the influence exerted over the mind of the King Chau Fah Yai, and the direction given to his studies by the American Missionaries at Bangkok. Our correspondent refers to the Rev. Mr. Caswell, as one who devoted much time to the instruction of the King in the English language, and she encloses a letter from a friend, who was also several years in Siam as a missionary of the A. B. C. F. M., together with an autograph English note of the King himself, written more than ten years ago, which of course shows the statement in the concluding paragraph
p.154: “of the article- that five years ago the King knew not a syllable of the English language- to be incorrect. She adds, as a belief of her own, that Chau Fall Yai had procured a font of English type more than sixteen years ago, and her friend further states that the article is in error in attributing the honour of building the first square rigged vessels in Siam to Chau Fah Noi, since, upon the authority of Dr. Bradley in his Bangkok Calendar for 1859, it rightfully belongs to Phra Noi Wai.”
Source
James E. Heath. Southern literary messenger: devoted to very department of literature and the fine arts. Vol. 28 January-June 1859 and Vol. 29 August-December 1859.
