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-108- concern as they walked among them. Picking up a big snake by the back of the neck, one man held the reptiles, while the other put a glass slide into its mouth. Its teeth and fangs crunched down on the glass, and a teaspoon [[strikethrough]] of [[/strikethrough]] full of thick yellow poison trickled out. The attendant carelessly tossed the snake into the narrow moat of water that surrounds the edge f the pit, and they both came out, and proceed to the next pit. Here were the ordinary cobras - dozens of them. Many of the little shelters were lifted, so that the place was simply swarming with the menace of death. The Siamese stood in front of one cobra, made a gesture toward it, and it rose and spread its hood. Still facing it, he bent over, grasped it six inches below the head, moved his hand steadily upward, closing the hood as he did so, until he had the cobra by the neck. Then it, too, was milked. It was the most incredible, and nonchalant, handling of poisonous snakes that we had ever seen. Only with the Russell's viper was any particular caution shown. These reptiles were handled with long metal tongs. We had lunch at the Legation, then took our gibbons over to Dr. Jones. Later in the afternoon we had tea with Phya Jolamark, head of the Department of Agriculture, and there were met Bill's old friend, Nai Aab, now Phya Saldwidhan. They met for the first time in 23 years, and it seemed to be a happy reunion. Kungying Jolamark was very charming and hospitable, let us watch the Siamese pancakes which she served us being prepared - on charcoal braziers the batter was spread very thin, cooked to a crispness that crackled, spread with shrimp, coconut and seasoning, and folded over - a rick but delicious dish. July 23 - Phya Salwidhan took us, in the morning, to the Wat Phra Keo, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha - an amazing fairy land of golden pagodas, glittering temple roofs, glass-studded walls that glitter in the light, surrounded by a wall and corridor, the inside of which is frescoed the entire length with scenes from the Ramayana - small figures, detailed landscapes, lots of gold paint, an infinite amount of work. The temple itself is a beautiful building, with doors inlaid with mother-of-pearl on lacquered teak, and with hundreds of little bells tinkling overhead. A great golden altar inside has a high reliquary in which is the famous Emerald Buddha, a figure 60 cms. high, cut out of a solid piece of green jasper. It is clad in vestments of gold and jewels, and is so high that in the dim light one cannot get a very good view of it. Around the temple grounds are many grotesque guardian figures, with grimacing masks and high pointed head-dresses; bronze elephants; statues of the bird God (Kinari ?) demons, and all the complicated mythological figures of the Buddhist tradition. Hindu and Chinese figures have also been brought in, and carved stone statues of indubitable antiquity mingle with the more modern representations of the gods. One of the sights of the Wat Phra Keo is the model of the Angkor Wat, a reminder of the beautiful ruins that Siam lost to the French. Phya Salwidhan then took us to the stables where the royal white elephants were kept. He warned us in advance that they were white in name rather than in appearance. One of them had a blotched and pinkish appearance; one very tall one had a pink trunk and pink mottlings on his ears. We fed them both sugar cane, and
