e total eclipse of 1868 was imminent, Mongkut calculated exactly when it would occur and threw a lavish party (Ross 73). The royal party sailed down the river to a beachside forest spot that workmen had been clearing for months, now boasting a "temporary palace and guest-house" with "a special observatory" (Ross 74). To his guests' surprise, the celebration was not tainted by "the discomforts of a far-off jungle," as expected, but was as sumptuous as any Western festivity, with "the food prepared by a French chef, the wines...served by an Italian maÎtre d'hôtel, and the champagne...cooled with an abundance of ice, which was then the rarest of luxuries" (Ross 74). There was even dancing, and the king's wives and children attended, exhibiting "pretty manners and...English chit-chat" (Ross 74).
In part because such incidents demonstrated a non-fundamentalist, inclusive approach, Mongkut's power and popularity with respect to his Buddhist beliefs had "universal appeal" and stood o
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