Our object in visiting the left bank of the river, was, to see an immense edifice, in the form of a temple, which was erecting for the purpose of burning the wang-na, generally called the second king, who died about six months since; and whose body has been embalmed, according to the imperfect knowledge of the Siamese in this art. The body is first washed, and then a large quantity of crude mercury or honey is poured into the mouth; it is then placed in a kneeling posture, and the hands are brought together before the face in the attitude of devotion; strips of cloth are then bound tightly round the extremities, and the body is compressed in a similar manner, for the purpose of squeezing out the moisture. It is then put into an air-tight vessel, more or less expensive, according to the rank of the deceased; (some of the vessels are even made of gold;) a hollow tube is inserted into the mouth, passes through the upper part of the box and the roof of the house, to convey away the effluvia; a similar tube is placed in the bottom, which communicates with a vessel, placed there to receive the draining from the body. The sordes thus collected, if they belong to a prince, are conveyed, with many ceremonies, below the city, and there emptied into the river. Should they belong to the king, they are boiled until an oil separates, and this is used on certain occasions, (as when his family or his descendants pay their devotions to his departed spirit,) to anoint the singular image, called Seina, which is generally placed in a temple, after his death. By the process, named above, the body, in a few weeks, becomes quite dry and shrivelled. [Sidenote: IMMENSE TEMPLE.]