"'If persons pecuniarily or otherwise embarrassed sell temporarily their children, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren to a purchaser, to be used by him in lieu of interest, and the purchaser or master has business or trouble, and takes his slave to accompany him, and thieves or murderers cut, stab, and kill, or tigers, crocodiles, or other animals kill and devour the slave, the law declares, being the slave of the purchaser who took him with him, the purchaser is entitled to no refund from the seller, because the slave accompanied his master.' "I have copied this from an English translation of the Siamese laws, and suppose it is correct. I am told that the slavery of Siam is not like what we had in the United States, as the slaves are of the same class and color as their owners, and there is not much difference between a poor free man and a slave. Both of them must work for their living; and I am told it sometimes happens that a man will deliberately sell himself, so as to have a master who will give him steady employment and feed him properly. The king has done a good deal towards improving the condition of slaves, and on every festival occasion those who have been a certain number of years in bondage are declared free. It is a common thing for men to pledge themselves and their families or relatives as security for money loaned or to pay interest, and when the debt is discharged they are free. The two sentences I have quoted from the Siamese laws relate to this kind of temporary slavery. It very often happens, when a man has thus pledged himself and family for a short time, and is confident that he will soon be free, his hopes are not realized, and he remains a slave for years and years--perhaps for his whole life. His relatives remain in bondage with him, and their happiness or misery depends very much upon whether they have a kind master or a cruel one. "For persons who are not held as slaves, divorce is very easy in Siam. The laws are not very strict; and if they simply desert each other, there is generally an end of their marriage. I have been told of a funny sort of divorce among the lower classes, but cannot say if it be true. When a couple have determined to separate, they sit down on the floor in the middle of their house, and each lights a candle. They sit there in silence while the candles burn slowly down, and the property that they owned in common will all belong to the one whose candle lasts the longest. The one whose light goes out first is only entitled to the clothes he or she may have on at the time--which is not much anyway.