Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/401

 best wishes—by his prepossessing manners, his intelligence and the evident sincerity of his assurances of good-will.

During his minority the affairs of the kingdom were successfully administered by the regent, the one who had been prime minister during the late reign—a man of great executive ability. The conservatism of this ablest and wisest statesman of Siam was perhaps a needful check upon what were possibly too strong tendencies toward reform in the youthful sovereign, who would fain have abolished slavery for debt and suppressed gambling by an immediate decree. But his minority was well improved. He was the first ruler of Siam to break over the superstition that would prevent his setting foot outside of his own dominions, and before he was twenty had visited other countries—the first year Singapore and Java; in a subsequent one, British Burmah, Calcutta, Bombay, and other cities of British India—intelligently observing everything, and returning with many ideas of improvements to be made at home.

In January, 1869, the missionaries were reinforced by the addition of the Rev. James W. Van Dyke and the Rev. John Carrington and their wives to the Presbyterian mission, and Rev. S. B. Partridge to the Baptist. Mr. Van Dyke was assigned at once to the Petchaburee station as a colleague to Mr. McFarland, then laboring