SIAM IN THE XXTH CENTURY

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

LESS than four days from Singapore, but off the beaten track of steamers running from Europe to the Far East, lies the little-known land of Siam; a land in which a picturesque and ancient civilisation still lingers, but is rapidly beginning to disappear before European and Western influences. It is a land of varied interests and one which may well appeal to the antiquarian or artist, or to the student of politics and society. Yet but few travellers find their way thither, and the Europeans to be met with in the country are practically all drawn there for other and more material reasons than those of research or study. It is, indeed, to be regretted that the man of leisure and cultivation, whether his tastes lie in the comparative study of manners and beliefs or whether they take a more practical