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FIRST HAIR-CUTTING OF A YOUNG SIAMESE.

The attention of the traveler as he passes in his boat along the rivers and canals of Siam, in town or country, is often arrested by the sound of music proceeding from beneath an extemporized awning in front of some dwelling by the wayside. There a promiscuous crowd have gathered and are witnessing a theatrical performance, the actors and actresses with chalked faces or hideous masks and in glittering and fantastic attire. The centre of attraction, however, is manifestly a pretty child of a dozen summers or so, richly attired and fairly overlaid with jewelry—necklaces, gold chains, armlets, bracelets and anklets.

A hair-cutting festival is in progress—a kone-*chook, as it is called, the ceremonies and the gayeties that attend the first clipping of the cherished topknot on the child's head. This is the great occasion in the life of the child, and indeed second only to that of a wedding or a funeral in the life of the family. The Siamese in shaving the heads of their children, as they do from their