248 ON THE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE 



of short, pithy sentences, of much meaning. Their 

 books of medicine are reckoned of considerable an- 

 tiquity. Both in science and poetry, those who 

 affect learning and elegance of composition, sprinkle 

 their style copiously with Bali. The laws of Siam 

 are celebrated all over the east, and La Loubere has 

 mentioned three works of superior reputation, the 

 Pra-Tam-non, rhe Pra-Tam-lia^ and the Pra-llaja- 

 Kam-manot. Of these, the first is a collection of the 

 institutions of the ancient kings of Siam ; the second 

 is the constitutional code of the kingdom, and con- 

 tains the names, functions, and prerogatives of all the 

 officers; the third, which is about 150 years old, con- 

 tains additional regulations. Of these, the first is 

 the most celebrated and the most deserving the at" 

 tention of Europeans. 



The Siamese histories of the Tliay dynasty, detail 

 with much minuteness, and great exaggeration, the 

 events which have occurred in Siam, and the adja- 

 cent states and countries, during the last 1000 years. 

 It also details the events of 400 years, previous to 

 i;hat period, with less precision, from the building of 

 the city Ma ha Nakhon. The records, however, of 

 4he T hay J'hay dynasty are supposed still to exist; 

 and, perhaps, it may yet be possible to glean a few 

 grains of pure historic gold from the sands which 

 glitter in the long vallies of the Mt^nam and Mt- 

 kon. 



The Cheritras, or romantic fictions of the Siamese, 

 are very numerous, and the personages introduced, 

 with the exception of Rama and the characters of 

 the Ramayan, have seldom much similarity to those 

 of the Brahmens. The following are some of the 

 most, popular among the Tlwy^ several of which 



