mass of tropical foliage, gleaming out from among clustering palms
and graceful banians, we could discern the gilded spires of gorgeous
temples and palaces, of which Bangkok boasts probably not less than
two hundred. The temples, with their glittering tiles of green and
gold, and graceful turrets and pinnacles from which hang tiny tinkling
bells that ring out sweet music with every passing breeze, their tall,
slender pagodas and picturesque monasteries, stand all along the banks
of the river, its most conspicuous adornments. But pre-eminent, both
for height and splendor, is Wat Chang, visible, all but its base, from
the very mouth of the river. Its central spire, full three hundred
feet in height, towers grandly above the surrounding turrets and
pagodas, the white walls gleaming out from the dark foliage of the
banian, and the feathery fringes of the palm reflected on its shining
roof.

[Illustration: THE KING OF SIAM RETURNING TO HIS PALACE.]

The two main entrances to the royal palace are of white masonry very
elaborately adorned. Groups of elegant columns support a capital
composed of nine crowns rising one above the other, and terminating in
a slender spire of some forty feet. The whole is inlaid in exquisite
mosaics of porcelain, the various colors arranged in quaint devices,
so as to produce the happiest effect, while the reflection of the
sun's rays upon the glazed tiles, the numberless turrets and pinnacles
of the lofty pile, and the porticoes and balconies of pure white
marble opening from every window, and leading to delectable
conservatories, luxurious baths or fairy groves and arbors, present,
as grouped together, a sight worth a trip across the waters to enjoy.
The engraving represents one of these entrances, and His Majesty
Somdetch Phra Paramendr Maha Mongkut, the late supreme king of Siam,