350 
WIDOWS AND THEIlt PROPERTY* 
The Kings of Siam do not follow the above roles, but always mar¬ 
ry into their own family, and even form alliances with their own sis¬ 
ters and daughters* even, on emergencies, when more distantly con¬ 
nected scions of the royal stock are not obtainable;—a practice 
which it is well known prevailed as regards the sisters in Egypt, and 
is yet extant in other regions besides Siam. 
An absence such as to cause a husband to be considered dead, in 
Law, and winch is decided on agreeably to particular facts, entitles 
the supposed widow to receive her portion of his estate and to mar¬ 
ry again. But before she and the rest of his relatives can become 
vested in their right to their respective shares, it is necessary that 
certain ceremonies shall be performed, and funeral rites paid, as if the 
husband was dead in fact. 
When the death of an absentee has been fully ascertained, it is con¬ 
sidered a duty imperative on his heir to scrupulously perform his ob¬ 
sequies. His name and age are to be written on slips of paper: 
these must then be burned along with an effigy, or a rude portrait of 
the deceased. 
Thia last custom corresponds with Hindu practice on like occasions. 
The custom of burning at funerals square gilt pieces of paper, on 
which hieroglyphic or other characters have been written, is of Chinese 
origin. 
Independent of these general laws in relation to the women, the 
Siamese Law-givers of later times have framed others, to be specially 
administered in cases where women are wives or daughters of officers 
of the government. 
* Vide M. De Loubcre, Head, Marriage of Kings. 
