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Foreword

Some time ago, Princess Traidos and Princess Amoradat requested the Royal Institute to select and edit a book for distribution at the cremation of their father Nai P'in T'ep Chalœm Bunnag, which, by Royal permission, will take place at Vat T'epsirin in March 1928. I then remembered a collection of records recently received from London and dealing with the Embassy sent to England by King Mongkut in 1857, under the leadership of P’ya Montri Suriyayvongs (Jum Bunnag). These records are extracts from the English newspapers (such as the Times, the Illustrated London News, the Court Journal, etc.) kept in the library of the India Office, — they give interesting comments on the reception of the Siamese ambassadors and their stay in England.

The cremation will certainly be attended by a fair number of Siamese and Europeans conversant with the English language, and affords thus an excellent opportunity for printing and distributing these records. After consulting H. H. Prince Traidos, who approved of the publication, I entrusted Prof. G. Cœdés, General Secretary of the Royal Institute, with the task of selecting and editing the most interesting extracts, and I asked Mr. L. J. Robbins, B. A., English teacher at the Vajiravudh College, who