1863. | A. visit to Xiengmai. 397 
of the Méping which flows at a short distance, is frequented by a 
large number of wading birds, namely waterfowls, ducks, teal, egrets, 
and a kind of swan-goose. Nor is the Nock Bua wanting; and occa- 
sionally a Karen bird, the flesh of its breast yielding excellent steaks, 
may be shot there. 
Amongst the articles which I saw carried for sale to the bazar, are 
large rolls of paper of the usual Siamese kind. It is prepared from the 
bark of two different kinds of trees, (one of which is the Ton Kain of 
the Siamese). Each roll of the manufactured paper consists of 3 sheets, 
5 feet long and 2 feet 7 inches broad. Such a roll is sold at the rate of 
the eighth of a rupee or about three pence. They give it sometimes 
a greenish or bluish tint, but in general it is of a dusky white. 
Chao Operat had expressed a wish to present some gifts, according to 
Lao custom to the young princes Ong Teng and Ong Sawa who were 
with me. ‘The ceremony took place in the large Sala adjacent to our 
residence. The Deputy Viceroy did not come himself, but sent one 
of his high nobles accompanied by some other officers of rank. 
Two pyramids of flowers, consisting of three rows, one above the other, 
but each smaller than the preceding and the whole about 5 feet high, 
were carried before the procession—then came two smaller ones, of 
more intrinsic value, each of the branchlets of the pyramids ending in 
a kind of network with a rupee in it. ‘There were 50 of these on one 
tree, and 49 on the other, the missing one having probably found its way 
to the fob of one of the attendants, or rather to the corner of his girdle. 
The pyramids having been placed in the middle of the Sala, a num- 
ber of dishes with legs of pork, fowls, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, &c., 
were placed around them. Ong Teng and Ong Sawa squatted on the 
ground near the pyramids; one of the noblemen then stept forward, 
and having seated himself near the young princes, he made his salaam 
and took a book out of his girdle, and read a homily or prayer of ten 
tedious pages, addressed to Buddha, invoking him to protect the young 
princes during their journey, and to vouchsafe their safe return to their 
parents and friends. The prayer finished, he tore down one of the long 
cotton threads which were hanging from the branches of the larger 
pyramids, and taking the end part, about four inches in length, in his 
hands, he passed the rest from the wrist of Ong Teng to the end of 
the boy’s forefinger, murmuring all the time some sentence or incanta- 
tion—he then tore off the short end which he had kept in his hand, 
