SIAM, a kingdom of Asia in the East Indies, bounded on the north by Laos; on the east, by Cambays and Keo; on the south, by a gulph of the same name; and on the west, by the peninsula of Malacca. It is about 550 miles in length from north to south, and 250 in breadth where it is broadest. In the rainy season the rice-fields and meadows are overflowed in such a manner as to render them very fruitful. The city of Siam stands on an island made by the river, in a low country, and is as fruitful as any spot of ground in the world; for it produces rice, several kinds of pulse, many fruits and roots, with wild and tame cattle, and the river abounds in many sorts of excellent fish. The city is about ten miles in circumference; and there are many canals from the river, which cross the town several ways. The walls are high and thick, and are constructed of brick and stone; but the houses, though large, are low, and built on stakes driven into the ground, about ten or twelve feet high. The king has three palaces; and there are many large temples, well adorned and decorated with gilded images. The women in Siam are the only merchants in buying goods, and generally maintain their husbands with their traffic. The Europeans while at Siam accommodate themselves with temporary wives; for the women are very fond of foreigners, and they agree with each other in the preference of their nearest friends and relations, and then it is a lawful marriage for the time agreed upon. These wives are very obliging, and take the whole management of the household-affairs into their own hands. They buy provisions, dress the victuals, and take care of the cloaths, washing and mending them. If their husbands have any goods to sell, they set up a shop, and dispose of them by retail, which is of more advantage than selling them by wholesale. If the husband leaves the kingdom, and is willing to continue the marriage, he leaves her about
6 s. 8 d. a month to live upon in his absence, otherwise she may take another husband at the year's end. And here it must be noted, that women are never the worse esteemed for having been married to foreigners.
The natives of both sexes go bare-headed, and cut their hair so as to leave it two inches long, and then they gum it, and comb it upwards; so that it looks rather like bristles than hair, and makes their heads seem very large. They are well shaped, and have a large forehead, with a little nose, and a handsome mouth, with plump lips, and black sparkling eyes. The lappits of their ears are thick, and the men have but little hair on their chins. The men are of an olive complexion; but the women are of a straw-colour, and very prolific. Even the courtiers have nothing but a cloth which reaches from the waist to the middle of the thigh, and a sort of a waistcoat made of muslin, with a cap upon their head covered with muslin, and terminating in a point. The cloth that the men wrap about their middles is brought round between their legs, and turned into their girdles behind: but that of the women hangs down a little below their knees; and they cover their breasts with another cloth, throwing the ends over their shoulder; the rest of their bodies is quite naked, nor have they any covering on their heads: this must be understood of the better sort; for the common people of both sexes go quite naked, except a covering for those parts which decency requires them to hide. They however adorn themselves with rings, bracelets, and pendants. The general doctrine of this country is the transmigration of the soul.