The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXXXIX, Part 1-2 ... - Khamkoo

Exihi11011 of/Jnoksfimn rile coiiC'ction o..l M.l .. Mam'r .!ums.af 77
the Siarnese rook. there is a pi:Jcc ::.pparcnl.ly
called "lc truu des SiamUJS ... 1 ht~ was wJ1e 1'c
they s h~d their clorbcs and jumped imo a brook.
I beJieve the \Vencher was chilly; btu come what
may, the Siamese had to have their dai1y bmh!
'L his road. by Lh" way. is called "rue de Siam".
Ac1wllly there are lW(I more .. me d e Simn"
in France. One is in SajnL Marcel,~ small towo
"""r ivhuoci lb . It lead!. 10 ~ lccas l l ¢ ofOc Phra
Sakdisongkhram w ho was Admiral of the
Siamese Navy and Governor or Aangkok in
16S7. In Fmnn~ ltu: Oc Phra go..:s by the nanlt.'
oi'Con11e de Forbin.
TI1e o ther is in Paris, m the l()c arron·
d1Sst mem. \Vhcn Pnm:c Prisdang fa ~srandson
of Kmg Rama Ill) established his legmion 1hcre
in 1882. he insisted thnt 1he. Paris Municipnlity
name lhl! SITCCI in rront oftht miSSion in honour
of Siam. Prince J>risdang \o. 1 :l!l. ambassador- 10 12
couniJies in Europe and .'\.me rica from I H80
1 HR6 :ind he fore mnving tn Paris had already
cSth"d his ilrsl kga1ion in Lonuun iu I 880.
I lis principal achie,•emems were 1he arduous
rcncgntialions of ccrlain aspccls or the
Bowring Trcaly with ~1IILht: I I u-e.aLy powers iu
Europe. 1he sening up of the Siamese post and
telegraph services :H the internmionallcvel. and
h~nc~ lht prmting o f Lh~! iirsl prOper StampS.
and. most incredible of all . iuiliating •he fu·st
Si-nmc$e Constitution in IRSS. He was a relent·
less ''lmvai!leur" as attested by his publicatioo
of ~1e SJ((te l'upet·s uj rile Kingdom of Siam
/66-1- IS86. published in London in 1886, whic11
1s on display in th1s exhibition, bL~sidcs Slacks of
correspondence ami repons to the King and
Prince Devawongsc. ln a way he also hact some·
ihing w do with the Siam Socitly which is suon
w cclcbnnr its cc n lcm'lry~ because i1l 1884 he
hired a you n ~ Oxfot'd postgraduate lo come nnd
rt-place f\·lr. J\ labastcr 1 who had j ust died. in
o rd~:r 10 work on I he cs ta b li ~hmcnt of thl! Na·
1ional f\·lu:-..~um . Thi:; Oxonian, by the name of
Dr. Fmnkfuner, became 1hc founding Honorary
Secretary of Lhc Stam Society.
The rn ..·el of rhe LaH',' 811ddhism ••. by
Henry AlabnstertLondon. 187 1 ). is anolher rare
hook on display. I wish H.E. Privy Counsellor
Air Chief Marshal Siuhi Sv"tasila would come
and see i1 since he is " di•·eet descendant of Mr.
t\laba~tcr ,
In ~;lghl ighling Lhc ~bovc ~:pisUIJ L'S I hopL~ I
ha,edemonstl"dtcd 1hm old books are nol"dead".
If anything. they :ue very much ··olive" and :L5
such a source oJ' e-ndless i.liscovaics and juy.
I should end by sa)·ing I hat my wife. Khun
Su1hini. who has been worki ng very hard on
these exhibitions. was l~lc c.-:d with the. most
dtfficult 1ask of d