THE WHITE ELEPHANT OF SIAM.
By S. E. Carrington
IN former days the ceremonies attending the capture of a white elephant were very impressive. The discoverer, were he the humblest man in the kingdom, was immediately made a mandarin; he was exempted from taxation for the remainder of his life, and presented with large sums of money, the king himself giving him $1,000. As soon as the capture was made, a special courier was dispatched to the king, and a posse of nobles with gifts and robes started immediately for the scene of action. The ropes which the captors used in binding the royal victim were replaced by cords of scarlet silk. Mandarins attended to the slightest wants of the animal. Rich feather fans with gilt handles were used to keep the flies from it during the day, while a silk embroidered mosquito net was provided at night. To remove it to the capital, a boat was built expressly for the purpose, and a magnificent canopy erected over it, ornamented and bedecked, as were the king’s palaces. Silk draperies, heavy with silver and gold, inclosed the royal prisoner; and in this state he floated down the river, receiving the acclamations of the people. When near the city the animal was landed, the king and his court going out to meet him and escort him to the city, where a place had been built for him within the royal palace grounds. A large tract of land was set apart for his country place, chosen from the best the kingdom afforded. A cabinet of ministers and a retinue of nobles were appointed to attend to his wants.—S. E. Carrington, in August Californian.