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FIRST GENERAL MEETING.
A general meeting of the Siam Society was held at the Bangkok United Club on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 2nd. Dr. O. Frankfurter, President in the chair, when Professor Bradley read his paper on the "Oldest Known Siamese Writing" before a large audience.
In introducing the writer of the paper, the President said:—To every one acquainted with our local history the name of "Bradley" is known. Dr. Bradley arrived in Bangkok in the reign of King Phra Nang Klao in the year 1835. He lived throughout that reign and the reign of King Mongkut and died in the present reign in 1873, after having recorded in his Calendar and other publications what was noteworthy in Siamese customs and history. Through his profession he was brought into contact with all sorts and conditions of men and what strides have been made in the knowledge of surgery in Siam we owe to him. He it was who first introduced vaccination, and through him and the American Missionaries was also introduced the art of printing, and Bradley's editions of the Kotmai, the Phongsavadan, etc., are known to all interested in literature. Thus in introducing his son, Professor Bradley, my task is an easy one. "Stet magni nominis umbra." Professor Bradley was born in Bangkok in the reign of Phra Nang Klao in 1843, he lived in Bangkok nearly through the whole reign of Phra Chom Klao, he went to America and Europe and arrived in Bangkok again early in the present reign, and finally left for the United States in 1872. His interest in Siam, however, never flagged, as shown by his papers on Siamese grammar and phonology, and, to sound a more personal note, one might speak of the care he took of the Siamese students who were studying at California University.
Professor Bradley has kindly consented to read before us a paper on one of the famous Siamese inscriptions of Sukhothai which was brought to Bangkok in 1834 by King Mongkut whilst he was in the priesthood. It is a typical Buddhist inscription, recording, not so much deeds of war
