Hall, Louis was introduced as
the speaker for the occasion, and promptly presented himself before his
audience.

"I have very little to say, Mr. Commander, for General Noury has covered
the whole subject under the head of Cochin China," he began. "What is
more particularly known as French Cochin China contains 23,000 square
miles, and a population of 1,800,000. The part in the north is called
French Indo-China. The country is precisely that described so carefully
by the general, and I need not repeat it. The Cambodia, or Mekhong
River, flows through it with many bayous or cut-offs. On one of these,
which is called the Saigon River, is the city of Saigon, the capital of
the French possessions in the East, Lippincott says thirty-five miles,
and Chambers sixty miles, from the China Sea; and of course both of them
cannot be right, and you are all at liberty to take your choice. The
town has grown up within the last thirty-two years; and, after the style
of French cities, it is handsomely laid out, with fine streets, squares
and boulevards. It contains numerous canals, with stone or brick quays;
and perhaps it will remind you of Paris along the Seine. It is said to
be one of the handsomest cities of the East. It has a navy-yard and
citadel, and is the most important port between Hong-Kong and Singapore.
The people are French, Annamese, and Chinese. It has a large trade, and
contains two colleges, an orphan asylum, a splendid botanical garden, to
say nothing of convents and other institutions. The population is put by
one at ninety thousand, and by another at about half that number. I have
nothing more to say."

Louis retired, and the next day the ship arrived at Saigon.

CHAPTER XXII

IN THE DOMINIONS OF THE FRENCH

It was not a long voyage from Bangkok to the mouth of the Mekhong River;
and the sight of land was not as thrilling an incident as it had often
been in the experience of the voyagers, and they were not in condition
to appreciate the feelings of Captain Columbus when Watling's Island
broke on his vision four hundred years before. It had been smooth
sailing all the way; the Gulf of Siam had been as gentle and
affectionate as a maiden among the flowers, and the China Sea was
scarcely more ruffled.

Mr. Gaskette had finished up his new map of Cochin China, so that it was
as creditable to his skill and taste as his former efforts had been; and
it was displayed on the frame in Conference Hall, which was