The education of the Siamese is necessarily limited and the standard low, when compared with that of European countries. The temples or monasteries are the common schools of the country. Every priest can take to the temple with him as many pupils as he can teach, so that at almost every temple can be found a nice collection of boys, making a very respectable school. These boys besides being taught the rudiments of their own language, and the tenets of the Budhist religion, act also as servants to the teacher, propelling his boat when he goes out on the river, and doing other like menial turns for him. They live on the surplus rice which is left, after the priests are satisfied. Every pupil is taught to hold his teacher in special reverence, which lasts through life. The males are all thus gathered in when boys, and taught to read and write their own language, and the simple rules of arithmetic, as the Siamese knowledge of that art does not extend beyond the simple rules. It is consequently rare that a male can be found who cannot read and write his own language, and on the other hand it is just as rare that a female is found who can. No provision has yet been made there for the education of females. Indeed the feeling in high quarters has hitherto been against it, but not near so strong as in India, and many other places, but that feeling is now happily passing away. It used to be said that if woman could read she would become too tricky for man. The females, amongst the common people especially, are the drudges, and become wives and mothers so early, that there is but little time for their education. Some of the women of the higher classes have in some way learned to read, and the missionary ladies have managed to teach some few others to read, whilst employed in their families, but aside from these few exceptions the great mass of the women are ignorant of letters. The late king made one or two spasmodic efforts to have the women of the palace taught English. Soon after he ascended the throne he employed some of the missionary ladies to go to the palace regularly and teach, but soon became alarmed lest they should teach too much religion, and requested them to stop. A few years previous to his death also, he employed an English governess in the palace, who, after about three years rather arduous labor succeeded in giving the women and children of the palace some knowledge of English, and perhaps a smattering of some of the sciences. The higher order of education amongst the males consists of a correct knowledge of their own language, and a smattering at least of the Pali or sacred language. Some few who remain sufficiently long in the priesthood make considerable proficiency in the Pali. Their standard of education is also rather depreciating than rising. Missionaries now find it difficult to secure a young man sufficiently educated to make a good teacher. One reason of this is that since the country has been opened to foreign commerce, opportunities to make money are more common than previously, and young men do not now remain sufficiently long in the priesthood to become good scholars, but leave it to go into business.

The Siamese language proper is monosyllabic and rather poverty-stricken. It has however, been enriched from time to time from the Pali, and from the languages of the surrounding nations, and by a few words from the Chinese. Titles of nobility and distinction are all taken from the Pali. Many of the words used in addressing the King, and others high in authority, have been transferred from the Pali, and some few from the Sanscrit. The late King professed to be proficient in the Sanscrit, and some of their learned men now make pretensions in that way. It is doubtful, however, whether the late King, although the most learned man in the kingdom, had anything more than a smattering of Sanscrit, and I do not suppose there is any one now in the kingdom who knows anything about it worth naming.

The Siamese alphabet consists of forty-four consonants, with several vowel-points, diacritical marks and abbreviations. The alphabet is divided into three classes, and there are also seven tones, so that words beginning with a certain class of letters are spoken with a raised tone, whilst others are spoken with rather a depressed tone. Some of the consonants too, are spoken with an aspirate, whilst in others the aspirate is withheld. This putting on the tone and the aspirate in certain instances, and leaving them off in others, makes it very difficult for one not born to it to acquire the language correctly, "Kai," with an aspirate, means an egg, but by leaving off the aspirate it is a chicken. Although spelled somewhat differently, the sound to an unaccustomed ear is exactly the same. In these things foreigners make some ridiculous mistakes. You have all probably heard of the missionary lady somewhere, who, whilst in her garden, told a servant to bring her a knife, as she thought, but was surprised to see him coming out with a table on his head. I once heard a missionary, otherwise good in the language, but who could never manage the aspirates and unaspirates correctly, announcing to his audience that there would be services at such an hour in the Siamese language, but unfortunately he left off the aspirate, and announced that there would be services in the dead language. Still the audience understood from the connection what he meant.

The literature of the Siamese is very meagre. They have a history of their country which commences in fable, but after a few pages are passed, it becomes a correct and reliable history of the kingdom. It is written in a condensed style, and couched in good language. They have also tolerably reliable histories of the neighboring countries, such as Cambodia, Pegu, and Birmah. They are exceedingly fond of fiction, and have a fabulous history of China, which has been translated into Siamese, and is very popular. The Regent and Foreign Minister have both been recently engaged in translating additions to that fabulous history. If they would take as much pains in translating the histories of the different countries of Europe and of America, their people would soon become well informed in regard to the great transactions of the world. The remainder of their literature consists in vile and disgusting plays, in which they take great delight, both in reading and seeing them performed in their theatres. They are also very fond of a kind of jingling verse, and will listen for hours to the mere jingle, caring little or nothing for the sense, of which it is generally devoid.