is constructed of brick, plastered
and then gilded, so that it looks like a golden statue in a reclining
posture. The feet are sixteen feet long, and the arms six feet in
diameter.

The party looked in at another temple, which contains a brass statue of
Buddha fifty feet high, with other smaller statues, and a variety of
objects that were unintelligible to the visitors. Various other temples
were examined hastily on the way to the royal palace, but they were only
a repetition of what they had often seen before.

The palace was a magnificent building, or series of buildings, for a
half-civilized country. The tourists were permitted to enter at the
gate, though the guide was excluded. They saw a squad of the royal
guards who were drilling on the pavement, and they regarded them with
great interest. They wore a Zouave uniform, though with a short
frock-coat buttoned to the chin, with round caps in cylindrical form,
and visors. They were armed with muskets, and commanded by native
officers.

"This palace is a big thing," said the professor, "and is a mile in
circumference, surrounded by walls."

It contained, besides the palace of the king, the public offices,
temples, a theatre, barracks for several thousand soldiers, and
apartments for three thousand women, six hundred of whom are the wives
of the king. But what interested them more than most of the sights was
the famous white elephant. He is said to be of equal rank with the king,
and is treated with all possible deference and respect. He has a
palatial stable; and being a king, he lives like one. His servants and
attendants are all priests. But he is not a pleasant sprig of royalty,
and the visitors were warned not to go too near him.

But it was time to return to the ship, and they found the boat in the
canal which Achang had indicated. At dinner the conversation was
concerning the city, and the party mentioned many things the Nimrods had
not seen. On Tuesday morning the ship sailed on her voyage to Saigon.

CHAPTER XX

A VIEW OF COCHIN CHINA AND SIAM

The ship sailed at six o'clock in the morning, but nearly all the
passengers were on deck as soon as the screw began to turn. They were
still in the Torrid Zone; and they saw the sun rise, though the days had
become a trifle longer. The Menam River is the great thoroughfare of
Bangkok, and the floating houses lined the river three or four deep for
a considerable distance below the city. The party found