No. 54.— 1903.] ANNUAL REPORT. 
45 
avoid the risk of appearing to relate the incredible," was a phrase 
commonly used at that time. Nowadays they were not so considerate. 
The tendency of exaggeration was not confined to any nation ; and 
there was no hesitation in stating the incredible, whether it was from 
Savage Landor or the goiyd in the witness box. He should like to 
know if ifc was a mere formal phrase, or whether it indicated that they 
had lost, perhaps, the most interesting part of the description ? 
Mr. PiERis replied that he could only say he translated what the 
writer said. 
The Peesident : I do not think it is unusual for writers in books 
of travel to say that words fail to express what they saw. 
Mr. Haeward said they must remember it was characteristic of 
Oriental literature to give catalogues of splendid fittings. Such 
catalogues formed a part of the poetical and prose descriptions in 
Oriental literature. Although, no doubt, the Paper gave an interest- 
ing description of Siam as it was in the eighteenth century — there was 
no doubt a great deal of prosperity and splendour there — he did not 
think they were bound to accept quite the full picture presented to 
them in that Paper ; because he thought it would come quite natural 
to a Sinhalese narrator at the, time to give numerical symmetry to the 
various details he was describing. 
Mr. PiERis said that the writer from whom he had translated 
appeared to be a very careful writer, and he saw no reason for dis- 
believing him. When he talked about emeralds the size of oranges 
he might be mistaken ; but possibly he referred to the green stone. 
In further proof of the enormous expenditure of the Siamese Kings 
on their religion, he had the good fortune to have given him a note, 
(which he did not think was yet published) in which there was 
reference to a certain temple, where was an image of the Buddha 
larger than life-size of solid gold. While in England he saw a bell 
that was captured at the sacking of a town in that quarter ; it weighed 
3 cwfc., and 2 cwt. of it was solid silver, 
Mr. D. B. Jayatilaka said he did not think there was any difficulty 
in believing these accounts ; for the simple reason there were accounts 
by other envoys to Siam. He might mention the interesting fact that 
the Embassy of a.d. 1950 was the fourth. There had been three before 
it to Siam, and it was interesting to note that the first Ambassador to 
Siam, sent by the Si^ihalese King to inquire into religion there, was a 
Dutch officer. He had seen a letter from him to the Kandyan King, 
describing the Siamese Court, which was similar in description to the 
Paper now read. He did not believe that the Dutch exaggerated ; 
and if they could believe the Dutchman's description, he did not think 
they need cast any doubt on the Paper now before them. 
Mr. W. A. DE SiLVA said he had recently been to Siam, and had seen 
most of the things referred to in the Paper. He had seen the green 
stones a little larger than an orange. He had also seen the gold image 
of Buddha life-size. As regards the processions and elephants' houses 
and trappings, &c., it seemed to him most of these things still remained. 
If any of them were to go to Siam and watch some of the religious 
festivals, most of the descriptions given in that Paper would seem 
to be quite correct. So far as he had observed, they were. 
