ear old, I am afraid that it is not entirely
correct for to-day. You observe, my friends, that Siam occupies nearly
the whole of the peninsula east of Burma. Annam is cut down to a very
thin slice on the China Sea; and Tonquin, where France has kept many
soldiers employed for several years, is swelled into a considerable
territory. I doubt if the last change in the boundary of Siam is shown
before you. The limits of Cambodia are closely defined.

"Nearly the whole of the peninsula was included in the ancient kingdom
of Cambodia, existing at the Christian era; and Buddhism is believed to
have been introduced into it in the fourth century. Some remarkable
ruins, with interesting sculptures, have been found as testimonials to
the greatness of this ancient country. The Temple of Angkor had 1,532
columns, and the stone for the structure was brought from a quarry
thirty-two miles distant. Massive bridges, so solidly built that they
have resisted the ravages of time and the inundations of more than a
thousand years, are still to be seen. One of them is four hundred and
seventy feet long, and has thirty-four arches. An account of these
wonders was given by a Chinese traveller of the thirteenth century, and
they seem to bear some comparison with the works of the ancient
Egyptians.

"The native name of Siam is _Muang Thai_, which you will please to
remember; and I mention it only to tell you that it means 'The Land of
the Free,' and it must be a first cousin of your country, Mr. Commander;
but I suppose you will not accept the relationship because 'The Home of
the Brave' is not included. Siam has an area of about 250,000 square
miles, as estimated by geographers; and one authority gives it a
population of 6,000,000, and another 8,000,000, but they agree in giving
it 2,000,000 Siamese, and 1,000,000 Chinese. The rest of the number is
made up with Malays, Laosians, and other tribes.

"The Menam River is six hundred miles long, and it has several branches.
On the banks of these streams very nearly all the people live, for the
regions away from them are a wild jungle which is not cultivated. The
country is healthy enough for a tropical region, though malarial fevers
are very trying to European residents and visitors. The wet season is
from May to November, when it rains about every day; and the rest of the
year it does not rain at all. The average rainfall is fifty-four inches
a year, and the average temperature 81 deg., though the