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In the evening we went with the Salwidhans to Saranrom Park, where a Buddhist fair was being held. In small booths various articles were for sale, and refreshments were being cooked over rosy braziers. In a small theatre a troop of dancers were performing, and although the place was packed to the doors and we could only get glimpses of the dance by standing on tiptoe and looking in through the windows, the effect of the dancers, wearing masks, the conventional head-dresses, and sparkling gem-studded silk costumes, was very beautiful, and I would have enjoyed a closer and more adequate view of the posturing that constitutes a Siamese dance. We were more fortunate in hearing a Siamese orchestra, for we were invited right into their pavilion, seated beside the drums, and given a most interesting concert. Here again we heard the xyllophone-like instrument, and also gongs, fifteen or twenty of them, arranged in a semi-circle, mounted on a wooden base, constituting a single  instrument played by one man. Two xyllophones, two sets of gongs, one flute, and four drums, made up the orchestra. They were accompanied by a chorus of five yong girls, chanting the story of Buddha's life. It was interesting to see, even if the music meant little to Occidental-trained ears.

July 25 -

Up early, and out to the Polo Club at eight o'clock, to watch the jumping competition between the Bangkok Polo Club and the Siamese cavalry officers. They had beautiful, spirited horses, but the track was slippery and treacherous. Time and again the horses refused the jumps; there were many spills, one of them a bad one when a Siamese broke his shoulder. The riding over, we had an elaborate breakfast, and then went on to the Sports Club for a swim. The pool here is a beauty, and the [[insertion]] ^[[meeting]] [[/insertion]] place [[strikethrough]] is a social meeting [[/strikethrough]] for Bangkok society on Sunday mornings. We met the Cullings, and others whom we knew, and sipped cold drinks and ate curry puffs between swims.

In the afternoon we went with the Salwidhans to the National Museum, where in a fine old palace are housed the artistic and historic treasures of Siam. There were many cases of Buddhas of all ages and of all materials - gold, bronze, stone, plaster, etc. A carved ivory howdah that once belonged to the Royal Family took my eye, as did the display of richly colored, handwoven silks. Here was a case of old Siamese money, and I was surprised to learn that the type that is now used only by souvenir hunters for buttns once existed in pieces as big as your fist and worth eighty ticals. A print of Buddha's foot is one of the exhibits, as is also a model of the tooth, a replica of the original in Kandy. The tooth itself is something over an inch in length. Many bells, gongs and drums tempted Bill to test them for tone, but when he struck one of them Phya looked startled, and explained that the accompanying Siamese text said that if you wanted a child to strike this bell. Whereupon Bill struck it five times more. Old manuscripts are housed in lovely cases of inlaid wood. There are beautiful exhibits of armor and of ceramics - in fact all the arts, industries, and customs of ancient Siam are here shown at their best.

A ride through "silver street", where dozens of open- fronted shops display a dazzling amount of silver work, finished the afternoon. We bought a jade ring and a pair of cuff links, and called it a day.