The Kingdom and People of Siam: With a Narrative of the Mission to that Country in 1855, Volume 1

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J. W. Parker, 1857 - 446 pages

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Page 179 - I be afflicted by the intolerable oppressions of my superiors ; or may cholera morbus cause my death : after which, may I be precipitated into hell, there to go through innumerable stages of torture ; amongst which, may I be condemned to carry water over the flaming regions in open...
Page 250 - Queen of Heaven.' She is said to have been a virgin, who lived some centuries ago in Fuh-keen, near the district of Fuh-chow. On account of having with great fortitude, and by a kind of miracle, saved her brother who was on the point of drowning, she was deified, and loaded with titles, not dissimilar to those bestowed on the Virgin Mary. Every vessel is furnished with an image of this goddess, before whom a lamp is kept burning.
Page 307 - In these countries, women are not so universally confined in the interior of their houses, without the remotest chance of ever appearing in public. They are seen circulating freely in the streets ; they preside at the comptoir, and hold an almost exclusive possession...
Page 249 - The common sailors receive from the captain nothing but dry rice, and have to provide for themselves their other fare, which is usually very slender. These sailors are not, usually, men who have been trained up to their occupation ; but wretches, who were obliged to flee from their homes ; and they frequently engage for a voyage, before they have ever been on board a junk. All of them, however stupid, are commanders ; and if...
Page 180 - ... of justice, and thereafter may I fall into the lowest pit of hell ; or if these miseries should not ensue, may I after death migrate into the body of a slave, and suffer all the hardships and...
Page 178 - Buddha), declare that I am wholly unprejudiced against either party, and uninfluenced in any way by the opinions or advice of others ; and that no prospects of pecuniary advantage or of advancement to office have been held out to me : I also declare that I have not received any bribe on this occasion. If what I have now spoken be false, or if in my further averments I...
Page 179 - If I have not seen, yet shall say that I have seen — if I shall say that I know that which I do not know, then may I be thus punished : — Should innumerable descents of the Deity happen for the regeneration and salvation of mankind, may my erring and migrating THE SIAMESE OATH.
Page 248 - ... ship, This is the business of the ho-chang, or pilot. During the whole voyage, to observe the shores and promontories are the principal objects which occupy his attention, day and night. He sits steadily on the side of the ship, and sleeps when standing, just as it suits his convenience. Though he has, nominally, the command over the sailors, yet they obey him only when they find it agreeable to their own wishes ; and they scold and brave him, just as if he belonged to their own company. Next...
Page 62 - Siam was great and merciful, that he himself had committed a great error and deserved his present punishment. In this cage were placed with the prisoner, a large mortar to pound him in, a large boiler to boil him in, a hook to hang him by, and a sword to decapitate him ; also a sharp-pointed spike for him to sit on.
Page 250 - When any alteration for improvement is proposed, they will readily answer, — If we adopt this measure we shall justly fall under the suspicion of barbarism. The most disgusting thing on board a junk is idolatry, the rites of which are performed with the greatest punctuality. The goddess of the sea is Ma-tsoo-po, called also Teen-how,

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