“For over twelve years of hope deferred has this great blessing been sought and prayed for, but ‘sought and never found’ till now. Blessed be the name of Him who in His mercy and sovereign grace has been pleased to visit us with His favour and make the teaching and preaching of His servants here the means at last of bringing one heathen soul out of nature’s darkness into the light and peace of His kingdom. “Nai Chune, a Siamese, an educated man of nearly forty years of age, after a satisfactory examination on his views and experience was today received to our fellowship by baptism in the sacred name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. May he walk worthily of the name he has named today, and be a witness for Christ his God and Saviour among his countrymen. He appears remarkably well. He is courteous and intelligent, a true Siamese gentleman in manners; is serious-minded, sedate, seems to realise the goodness of his Heavenly Father to him.” The joy of this conversion was soon followed by a shadow of sorrow. For a little more than three months later occurred the death of faithful Quakieng. Fortunately the work among the Siamese had developed so favourably that less emphasis was being placed on the instruction in Chinese; and in a sense Nai Chune took the place of Quakieng, but with a transfer of the major effort to the teaching of the Siamese language. During this year King Mongkut had finished a new grand audience hall in connection with the palace, fashioned partly in European style. At the opening of the hall the king gave a feast to which many of the European and American sojourners were invited, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. House. In a letter to his father the doctor tells privately of a proffer of honour and service made to him by the king: “H. M. said, ‘You with your wife must come and live here [at the palace] and have the young princes, my children, for your pupils.’ I excused myself, my hands being already full.” With the cessation of teaching by the missionary ladies in the palace, the king had engaged an English lady, Mrs. Leonowens, as a tutor for some of the inmates of the palace, including his sons. Apparently, however, her teaching duties diminished after a time and she was occupied chiefly as an amanuensis for the king, and she was still connected with the palace at the time the king made this request of Dr. House.