It happens, therefore, that from the eighth to
the eleventh month the number of priests • is
very great ; but from the eleventh to the sixth
and seventh, it is much smaller ; for many, after
making a short experiment of the monastic life,
are, notwithstanding its immunities and distinc-
tions, glad to return to the world, with all its
ordinary cares and troubles, and the thousands
superadded to it in Siam by a bad and tyrannical
Government.
The priests live together in monasteries, con-
taining from ten to several hundred Talapoins.
The monasteries are always attached to a temple,
and consist of a regular series of cells on its out-
skirts, generally encompassing one or more angles
of the building. The Talapoins in Siam are di-
vided into six grades. When they first enter
the order, they are denominated Nen, that is,
noviciates or scholars, and are promoted to higher
ranks, according to their learning and standing.
70 EMBASSY TO. 6IAM

Every monastery is under the direction of a
superior or abbot, and the larger ones have also
a prior. Under the direction of these dignita-
ries, a regular system of subordination and dis-
cipline is maintained. The superiors, however,
can exercise no magisterial or judicial functions,
and inflict no corporal punishment ; their autho-
rity being confined to exhortation, reproof, or
finally to expulsion. Each superior priest within
the monastery has his own particular disciples,
who pay him the same honours that a Hindoo
scholar does to his Guru, or spiritual guide.
