The general outlines of the old city so closely resemble those of Bangkok, that the map of the one might easily be mistaken for the representation of the other.

It may not be out of place here to introduce the description of Ayuthia from the pen of Mandelsloe*. one of those painstaking travellers whose contributions to geographical science have been collected in the ponderous folios of Dr. Harris (vol. i. p. 781).

"The city of Judda is built upon an island in the river Menam. It is the ordinary residence of the King of Siam, having several very fair streets, with spacious channels regularly cut. The suburbs are on both sides of the river, which, as well as the city itself, are adorned with many temples and palaces; of the first of which there are above three hundred within the city, distinguished by their gilt steeples, or rather pyramids, and afford a glorious prospect at a distance. The houses are, as all over the Indies, but indifferently built, and covered with tiles. The royal palace is equal to a large city. Ferdinando Mendez Pinto makes the number of inhabitants of this city amount, improbably, to four hundred thousand families. It is looked upon as impregnable, by

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tong, for instance, signifies "True gold;" Canapong-pet, "Walls of diamond;" La Kongunau, “ Mountain of heaven." Pallegoix speaks of the ambitious titles given to Siamese towns, among which he mentions "the City of Angels," ," "the City of Archangels," and the "Celestial spectacle."

* Mandelsloe was born in Lower Saxony, A.D. 1615. He left Europe on his Oriental travels in 1636 to make a tour of the Indies, of which the principal object was to establish relations between the Duke of Holstein and the Shah of Persia.

1 La Loubere, English Translation, p. 4. London, 1693.

reason of the overflowing of the river at six months' end. The King of Siam, who takes amongst his other titles that of Paecan Salsu, i. e.,-Sacred Member of God, has this to boast of, that, next to the Mougul, he can deduce his descent from more kings than any other in the Indies. He is absolute, his privy councillors, called mandarins, being chosen and deposed barely at his pleasure. When he appears in public, it is done with so much pomp and magnificence as is scarce to be imagined, which draws such a veneration to his person from the common people, that, even in the streets, as he passes by, they give him godlike titles and worship. He marries no more than one wife at a time, but has an infinite number of concubines. He feeds very high; but his drink is water only, the use of strong liquors being severely prohibited, by their ecclesiastical law, to persons of quality in Siam. As the thirds of all the estates of the kingdom fall to his exchequer, so his riches must be very great; but what makes them almost immense is, that he is the chief merchant in the kingdom, having his factors in all places of trade, to sell rice, copper, lead, saltpetre, &c., to foreigners. Mendez Pinto makes his yearly revenue rise to twelve millions of ducats, the greatest part of which being laid up in his treasury, must needs swell to an infinity in process of time."

Ayuthia was formerly one of the most distinguished cities of the East. The spires of the pagodas and pyramids, blackened by time, still tower above the magnificent trees which grow amidst the masses of ruins they overshadow. The ancient city was

AYUTHIA-GOLDEN MOUNTAIN.

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about three leagues in circumference. Amidst the broken walls of palaces and temples are colossal statues from fifty to sixty feet high. These are mostly of brick, covered with brass of the thickness of two fingers. The annals of Siam report, that in founding one of these statues, 20,000lbs. of copper, 2000lbs. of silver, and 400lbs. of gold were employed. The walls of the city are overturned-thick and impenetrable masses of weeds, brushwood and tall trees, tenanted by bats and vultures, cover the vast desolation. In the midst of the heaps of rubbish, treasures are often discovered. The new city of Ayuthia surrounds the ancient site. It has two lines of floating bazaars. Its population is about 40,000. At a league's distance from the city, on the northern side, is a majestic edifice called the "Golden Mountain," built A.D. 1387. It is a pyramid four hundred feet high, each side having a staircase by which large galleries surrounding the building are mounted. From the third stage there is a splendid prospect; and there are four corridors by which the dome is entered, in whose centre is a gilded image of Buddha, rendered fetid by the depositions of millions of bats, which day and night are flitting in dire confusion around the altar. The dome is elevated one hundred and fifty feet above the galleries, and terminates in a gilded spire.

I have received the following account of the present condition of Ayuthia, the old capital of Siam, from a gentleman who visited it in December, 1855:

"Ayuthia is at this time the second town of the

kingdom. Situated, as the greater part is, on creek or canal connecting the main river with a large branch which serves as the high road to Pakpriau, Korat, and Southern Laos, travellers are apt entirely to overlook it when visiting the ruins of the various wats or temples on the island where stood the ancient city.

"The present number of inhabitants cannot be less than between twenty and thirty thousand, among which are a large number of Chinese, a few Burmese, and some natives of Laos. They are principally employed in shopkeeping, agriculture, or fishing, for there are no manufactories of importance. Floating houses are most commonly employed as dwellings, the reason for which is that the Siamese very justly consider them more healthy than houses on land.

"The soil is wonderfully fertile. The principal product is rice, which, although of excellent quality, is not so well adapted for the market as that grown nearer the sea, on account of its being much lighter and smaller. A large quantity of oil, also an astringent liquor called toddy, and sugar, is manufactured from the palm (Elaeis), extensive groves of which are to be found in the vicinity of the city. I was shown some European turnips which had sprung up, and attained a very large size. Indigenous fruits and vegetables also flourish in great plenty. The character of the vegetation is, however, different from that around Bangkok. The cocoa and areca palms become rare, and give place to the bamboo.

"The city is naturally considered one of the most important in the country, but is protected by no

REMAINS OF THE OLD CITY.

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fortifications. It has a governor and deputy-governor, and some inferior officers appointed over it.

"The King pays commonly one visit during the year to the capital of his ancestors, which lasts a week or two. He has a palace erected on the river-side, on the site of the old palace, which, however, has little of the appearance of a royal residence, the greater part of the building being constructed of teak and bamboo.

"Most of the principal merchants of Bangkok have houses in the town, which are used either as shops or as residences wherein to pass a week or two of recreation in the hot season.

"The only visible remains of the old city are a large number of wats, in different stages of decay. They extend over an area of several miles of country, and lie hidden in the trees and jungle which have sprung up around them. As the beauty of a Siamese temple consists not in its architecture, but in the quantity of arabesque work with which the brick and stucco walls are covered, it soon yields to the power of time and weather, and becomes, if neglected, an unsightly heap of bricks and woodwork, overgrown with parasitical plants. It is thus at Ayuthia. A vast pile of bricks and earth, with here and there a spire still rearing itself to the skies, marks the spot where once stood a shrine before which thousands were wont to prostrate themselves in superstitious adoration. There stand also the formerly revered images of Guadama, once resplendent with gold and jewels, but now broken, mutilated, and without a shadow of their previous splendour. There is one sacred spire of immense