Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/94

 house in the centre! Do you see how much at his ease His Lordship is reclining, with two or three attendants down on their elbows and knees before him? Look yonder at that small boat paddled by a little child five or six years old. How unconcerned the little fellow seems as he moves about entirely alone, his boat hardly larger than himself, the edge scarcely two inches above the water! Men, women and children in this country can swim; should this child upset he would look out for himself and think very little of the matter.

Many smaller craft are market-boats, with fruits and vegetables for sale. Notice some of the fruits as they pass. That one nearly as large as a child's head and resembling a huge orange is the shaddock or pomelow. This large one, which smells so very disagreeably, and which is so completely encased in spines as if to say, "Touch me not!" is the far-famed durian, which the natives consider the king of fruits. It weighs from five to ten pounds. This small round mahogany-colored fruit is the delicious mangosteen—that golden one, the luscious mango. Then there are the rich custard-apple, the refreshing orange, the blushing rhambutan, the pineapple, the banana, etc.

You see the flags of many different nations flying from the ships, of which none are more beautiful than the "star-spangled banner" of