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The several roofs of this temporary edifice have peculiar horn-like projections at the ends, and are covered with crimson cloth, while golden draperies are suspended from the ceiling. The entire space around the P'hra-mene is matted with bamboo wicker-work, and decorated with innumerable standards peculiar to Siam.
Very subtile, and indescribably stirring is this ancient music, with its various weird and prolonged cadences, and that solemn thundering boom enhancing the peculiar sweetness of the dirge as it rises and falls. Under the spell of such sounds as these the procession moved slowly to the P'hra-mene. Here the urn was lifted by means of pulleys, and enthroned on the splendid pedestal prepared for it.
Arrived at Bangkok, they are hauled on rollers inch by inch, by men working with a rude windlass and levers, to the site of the P'hra-mene. The following description of the cremation, at Bejrepuri, of a man "in the middle walks of life," is taken from the Bangkok Recorder of May 24, 1866: "The corpse was first to be offered to the vultures, a hundred or more.
Meanwhile, in the obsequies of the Princess Fa-ying, arrangements were made for the erection of the customary P'hra-mene, a temporary structure of great splendor, where the body lies in state for several days, on a throne dazzling with gold and silver ornaments and precious stones. For the funeral honors of royalty it is imperative that the P'hra-mene be constructed of virgin timber.
The centre of the P'hra-mene is a lofty octagon; and directly under the great spire is a gorgeous eight-sided pyramid, diminishing by right-angled gradations to a truncated top, its base being fifty or sixty feet in circumference, and higher by twenty feet than the surrounding buildings. On this pyramid stood the urn of gold containing the remains of the royal child.
Attached to this pyramid are four wings, forty feet long, with handsome porches looking to the cardinal points of the compass; here also are four colossal figures of heroic myths, each with a lion couchant at its feet. On one side of the square reserved for the P'hra-mene, a vast hall is erected to accommodate the Supreme King and his family while attending the funeral ceremonies.
As long as these funeral ceremonies last, the numerous concourse of priests is sumptuously entertained. At nightfall the P'hra-mene is brilliantly illuminated, within and without, and the people are entertained with dramatic spectacles derived from the Chinese, Hindoo, Malayan, and Persian classics.
There is also at each of the four corners of the P'hra-mene, an artificial tree, bearing gold and silver fruit, which is plucked by officers of the court, and tossed to the poor on every side. Each throw is hailed by a wild shout from the multitude, and followed by a mad scramble. In this connection the following "notification" from the king's hand will be intelligible to the reader.
Royal despatches are forthwith sent to the governors of four different provinces in the extreme north, where the noblest timber abounds, commanding each of them to furnish one of the great pillars for the P'hra-mene. These must be of the finest wood, perfectly straight, from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet long, and not less than twelve feet in circumference.
Upon his successor devolves the duty of providing for the erection of the royal P'hra-mene as to the proportions and adornment of which he is supposed to be guided by regard for the august rank of the deceased, and the public estimation in which his name and fame are held.
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