THE STORY OF THE DAVIDIA 279 



merce," was nearly finished building and I had the 

 honor of being its first guest. The proprietor, 

 Monsieur Fleury, was French but his wife was of 

 English birth, and if ever these lines should reach 

 them, may they assure them that even in these after 

 years I am not unmindful of the courtesy and kind- 

 ness which did so much toward making life tolerable 

 during my enforced stay. 



On the 29th idem I received a note from the French 

 officer commanding the district warning me against 

 proceeding on my journey and in the afternoon 

 news arrived of the murder of four men who had left 

 a few days before for Mengtsze. The outlook was 

 decidedly unpromising but I did not then realize how 

 many dreary days of waiting were ahead of me. 



What Laokai is like to-day I do not know but in 

 those days it was a very small village. It is situated 

 on the left bank of the Red River and separated from 

 Chinese territory by a small tributary stream and is 

 backed by low jungle and tree-clad hills with swamps 

 near by. Across the Red River on the right bank 

 was a large military encampment including barracks 

 where were quartered a battalion of the Foreign 

 Legion and several regiments of Annamese troops 

 officered of course by Frenchmen. Laokai is within 

 the tropics and although some hundreds of miles 



