ward, touch and cleanse and beautify all their surroundings.
Note.—The reader will doubtless notice that my description
is of Siamese life among the lower classes, not among
those who have come in contact with missionaries and been
improved somewhat, nor those of the higher classes in Bangkok—the
princes and nobles, whose old-time home-life was
neater and more orderly than that here described. These,
through the influence of foreigners coming to Siam and visits
to foreign lands, have raised themselves in the scale of living,
and have foreign houses filled with foreign furniture and conveniences,
order sumptuous meals from foreign bakeries, and
have them placed upon their tables and served in modern
style. I do not consider that true Siamese housekeeping.
