Page 242 - A History of Siam

A HISTORY OF SUM
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mud. He flew into a accused the two Princes
passion,
of a to cause him to fall from his and then
plot elephant
murder him, and would have had them both to
flogged
death had not the aged Chief Queen of King P'etraja
interceded for them.
During this reign Siam was afflicted with a most fearful
famine and drought. l The rice was all exhausted, and
the waters of the Menam River were covered with an
evil-smelling green slime. Most of the fish died, and the
few that remained were poisonous to eat. Sickness
broke and the that the use of the
out, King, fearing
water would foster the of forbade
polluted spread disease,
the to drink it.
people
The became
people, who could obtain no other water,
and a rebellion was imminent.
restless, Thereupon it
was announced that the god Indra* had appeared at the
and had declared that the scum was a
city gate green
panacea for all the diseases in the land. The whole
rushed to the river to anoint themselves with
populace
the scum and the polluted water. After fifteen days
heavy rains descended, causing the water to overflow,
and the famine and disease came to an end.
King P'rachao Slla, worn out by drink and debauchery,
brought his short and inglorious reign to a conclusion by
dying in the year 1709, aged forty-four. The nickname
by which he is known shows what his subjects thought of
him. Modern readers him to
will, perhaps, compare
some less noble beast than a
tiger.
King P'rachao Slia, at the time of his death, was on bad
terms with his eldest son, and it was his intention that his

1
This is taken from Turpin, who, as usual, gives no date. There was a severe
famine at Chienginai in 1703, and the famine in southern Siam may have been
in the same year.
Buddhism does not deny the existence of the Brahman deities. Indra and
several others are recognised in Siam and are looked as powerful angels
upon
or spirits They are not, however, worshipped by orthodox Buddhists